The gas-phase mass–metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies across large-scale environments using the CAVITY parent sample

Bidaran, Bahar [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000226432472); Duarte Puertas, Salvador [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada; Département de Physique, de Génie Physique et d’Optique, Université Laval, and Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ)] (ORCID:0000000255421940); Pérez, Isabel [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000316344628); Zurita, Almudena [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000169286367); Espada, Daniel [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000287267685); Argudo-Fernández, María [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000207892326); García-Benito, Rubén [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía – CSIC] (ORCID:000000027077308X); Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000318886578); Verley, Simon [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000206849115); Sánchez, Sebastián F. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias] (ORCID:0000000164449307); Falcón-Barroso, Jesús [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna] (ORCID:0000000206089574); Ferré-Mateu, Anna [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna] (ORCID:000000026411220X); Villalba-Gonzalez, Pedro [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia] (ORCID:0000000173394117); Jiménez, Andoni [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000252369278); Peletier, Reynier F. [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen] (ORCID:000000017621947X); Ruiz-Lara, Tomás [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000169844795)

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202658889

DOE OSTI · 3685210

The gas-phase mass–metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies across large-scale environments using the CAVITY parent sample

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Abstract

Context. The gas-phase mass–metallicity relation (MZR) of galaxies shows a noticeable break in slope and an increased scatter at low stellar masses, suggesting that the physical processes governing chemical enrichment differ between dwarf and high-mass systems. Dwarf galaxies, in particular, are highly susceptible to both internal and environmental mechanisms due to their shallow potential wells. Aims. The primary aim of this work is to assess whether a single, universal MZR can describe dwarf galaxies across diverse large-scale environments, or whether systematic environmental variations emerge. To probe these, we examine the MZR and star formation rate (SFR) of dwarf galaxies with stellar masses in the range of 8.9 < log(M ★ /M ⊙ ) < 9.5. Methods. Using optical spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we measured the fluxes of key emission lines via the pyPipe3D full spectral fitting pipeline. Aperture-corrected fluxes, along with multiple metallicity indicators and calibrations, were used to derive the MZR and the SFR for 353, 311, and 22 dwarf galaxies located in voids, filaments, and clusters, respectively. Results. We find a systematic variation in the MZR slope, steeper in voids (0.28 ± 0.03) and progressively flatter in clusters (0.17 ± 0.08), indicating a dependence of the MZR on the large-scale environment in this mass regime. When galaxies are separated by local density, no significant differences are observed between isolated and non-isolated dwarfs in voids. Isolated dwarf galaxies in filaments also exhibit properties similar to those of their counterparts in voids. However, non-isolated filament galaxies exhibit similar MZR slopes comparable to those of cluster dwarfs and flatter slopes than their counterparts in voids. Conclusions. We report both large- and local-scale environmental dependencies in the gas-phase metallicity and in the slope of the MZR for dwarf galaxies. Consistent with the general consensus on the pre-processing of galaxies in filaments, our results indicate that the influence of the local environment becomes increasingly significant within the filamentary regions of the cosmic web, affecting the chemical enrichment and star formation activity of low-mass systems. These findings further suggest that a portion of the scatter commonly observed in the MZR of dwarf galaxies arises from environmental effects.

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Bidaran, Bahar [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000226432472), Duarte Puertas, Salvador [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada; Département de Physique, de Génie Physique et d’Optique, Université Laval, and Centre de Recherche en Astrophysique du Québec (CRAQ)] (ORCID:0000000255421940), Pérez, Isabel [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000316344628), Zurita, Almudena [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000169286367), Espada, Daniel [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000287267685), Argudo-Fernández, María [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000207892326), García-Benito, Rubén [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía – CSIC] (ORCID:000000027077308X), Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000318886578), Verley, Simon [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000206849115), Sánchez, Sebastián F. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias] (ORCID:0000000164449307), Falcón-Barroso, Jesús [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna] (ORCID:0000000206089574), Ferré-Mateu, Anna [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna] (ORCID:000000026411220X), Villalba-Gonzalez, Pedro [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia] (ORCID:0000000173394117), Jiménez, Andoni [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000252369278), Peletier, Reynier F. [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen] (ORCID:000000017621947X), Ruiz-Lara, Tomás [Dpto. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Facultad de Ciencias (Edificio Mecenas), Universidad de Granada; Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada] (ORCID:0000000169844795). 2026-08-10. The gas-phase mass–metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies across large-scale environments using the CAVITY parent sample. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202658889

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