Research

Mass-Metallicity Relation

Galaxies are not static entities; they evolve with time. As they form new generations of stars, the stellar mass of the galaxies increases, as does the ratio of metals (anything heavier than Helium) to light elements like Hydrogen. The relationship between these quantities, known as the mass-metallicity relation, can tell us about galaxy evolution and stellar feedback. For the past 3 years, I’ve been using the LEGA-C spectroscopic survey to detail the high-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation and its evolution between z=0.8 and the current day. This project has been led by Brett Andrews and Rachel Bezanson, and assisted by Pitt undergraduate Katie Mack and then-high-school-student Mariah Jones.

Credit: NCSU