Uncovering the Chemical Evolution of Galaxies from z=0–5 using the UniverseMachine
Speaker: Moka Nishigaki
Abstract:
Cosmic baryon cycling is pivotal to galaxy evolution, and the amount of metals present in galaxies’ ISMs provides a key window into the gas cycling process. Recent JWST metallicity measurements and constraints on galaxy ISM masses have made it possible to recover the chemical evolution history of galaxies. In this talk, I present a novel empirical model that infers the average metallicity evolution of galaxies from redshift z=5 to z=0. Anchored in the UniverseMachine (Behroozi+19) framework, our model converts observations of gas-phase metallicities across z=0—5 and galaxy ISM masses into constraints on the ISM return fraction, a key parameter quantifying the recycling of metals into the ISM versus expulsion into the CGM. I will show the initial results on how the ISM return fraction changes with mass and redshift.