Clues to the Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation: Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Galaxy Size

Alan W. McConnachie; David R. Patton; Luc Simard; Sara L. Ellison

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Clues to the Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation: Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Galaxy Size

Sara L. Ellison, David R. Patton, Luc Simard, Alan W. McConnachie

Astrophysics · Submitted 29 Nov 2007

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim We find that galaxies with high SSFR or large r_h for their stellar mass have systematically lower gas phase-metallicities (by up to 0.2 dex) than galaxies with low SSFR or small r_h.

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arXiv ID0711.4833 (version 1)

Pith IDE4WDIUXP, Pith's permanent record of this paper and its review

CitationAlan W. McConnachie, David R. Patton, Luc Simard, Sara L. Ellison. "Clues to the Origin of the Mass-Metallicity Relation: Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Galaxy Size." arXiv:0711.4833 (2007). https://pith.science/paper/E4WDIUXP

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Compiled by classifier-1.13-20260917 via OpenRouter, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 3,068 input tokens, $0.0001 reported.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.03 · states limitation 0.07 · human participants 0.02 · controlled comparison 0.46 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.98 · compares with prior results 0.15 · mentions code or data availability 0.02.

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arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; show every role.

We use a sample of 43,690 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 to study the systematic effects of specific star formation rate (SSFR) and galaxy size (as measured by the half light radius, r_h) on the mass-metallicity relation. We find that galaxies with high SSFR or large r_h for their stellar mass have systematically lower gas phase-metallicities (by up to 0.2 dex) than galaxies with low SSFR or small r_h. We discuss possible origins for these dependencies, including galactic winds/outflows, abundance gradients, environment and star formation rate efficiencies.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#	sentence	role	the authors' own work	states the main conclusion	strength
s0	We use a sample of 43,690 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 to study the systematic effects of specific star formation rate (SSFR) and galaxy size (as measured by the half light radius, r_h) on the mass-metallicity relation.	method 0.75	0.95	0.03	asserted 0.81
s1	We find that galaxies with high SSFR or large r_h for their stellar mass have systematically lower gas phase-metallicities (by up to 0.2 dex) than galaxies with low SSFR or small r_h.	result 1.00	0.97	0.86	asserted 1.00
s2	We discuss possible origins for these dependencies, including galactic winds/outflows, abundance gradients, environment and star formation rate efficiencies.	interpretation 1.00	0.50	0.04	hedged possibility 0.86

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: empirical study 1.00 · evidence from analysis of existing data 1.00.

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arXiv listing abstract v1

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full text
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references and citing sentences
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P abstract

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T body sentences
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Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper

Original abstract

We use a sample of 43,690 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 to study the systematic effects of specific star formation rate (SSFR) and galaxy size (as measured by the half light radius, r_h) on the mass-metallicity relation. We find that galaxies with high SSFR or large r_h for their stellar mass have systematically lower gas phase-metallicities (by up to 0.2 dex) than galaxies with low SSFR or small r_h. We discuss possible origins for these dependencies, including galactic winds/outflows, abundance gradients, environment and star formation rate efficiencies.

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References

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Cited by 5 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

Precise C-N-O Abundances of Individual Galaxies in the First Billion Years from Ultra-Deep, Rest-UV-to-Optical JWST Spectroscopy
astro-ph.GA 2026-09 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

Direct electron-temperature abundances from nine z=6-8.3 galaxies show C/O follows the local relation while N/O depends strongly on tracer choice.
Linking neutral gas inflows and outflows to offsets in the star-forming main sequence and mass-metallicity relation
astro-ph.GA 2026-09 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

Galaxies hosting neutral gas outflows or slow inflows sit above the star-forming main sequence, with small systematic shifts in central metallicity and 4000 Angstrom break strength relative to matched controls.
The evolution of the galaxy gas-phase mass-metallicity relation from $z=15$ to $z=0$ in the COLIBRE cosmological simulations
astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0 of 10

COLIBRE simulations find the galaxy gas-phase MZR already in place at z≈10 with little evolution until z≈5, then shallowens at low z, with high-mass turnover set by AGN feedback and low-mass end by core-collapse supernovae.
The PAU Survey: Active galactic nucleus galaxies in galaxy pairs
astro-ph.GA 2026-10 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

PAUS data reveals that AGNs in galaxy pairs become redder at z>0.6 and are preferentially found in morphologically disturbed, close pairs, indicating a redshift-dependent link between interactions and AGN activity.
Caught in the act: interaction-driven evolution in the nearby compact galaxy group Roberts Quartet (SCG0018-4854)
astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0 of 10

Multiwavelength study of Roberts Quartet finds it is a dynamically young compact group with ongoing interactions driving galaxy evolution on timescales of <=500 Myr.

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6 arXiv papers cite this in 10 sentences

Each citing sentence is taken from the citing paper's LaTeX source and typed by Pith's classifier. A label appears at probability 0.8 or more (0.95 for support), a contest at 0.7 or more; the quoted words are the citing authors'. How each label was checked · JSON

Papers citing it · 9 sentences without a confident label

Cites it as background 1 paper

While several studies have interpreted the classical MZR as a projection of a more fundamental $M_*$–$Z_gas$–SFR surface/plane, often referred to as the Fundamental Metallicity Relation [ref] , other works have found that the secondary dependence of metallicity on SFR is weaker than originally proposed, not always detected, or sensitive to sample selection and abundance calibration [ref] .

MAUVE-MUSE: When Metallicity Follows or Fights Star Formation -- A Mass-Dependent Inversion in Virgo Galaxies · Introduction · 0.85

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