English

Genesis-Metallicity: Universal Non-Parametric Gas-Phase Metallicity Estimation

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2026-01-12 v3

Abstract

We introduce genesis-metallicity, a gas-phase metallicity measurement python software employing the direct and strong-line methods depending on the available oxygen lines. The non-parametric strong-line estimator is calibrated based on a kernel density estimate in the 4-dimensional space of O2 = [O II]λλ3727,29\lambda\lambda 3727,29/Hβ\beta; O3 = [O III]λ5007\lambda 5007/Hβ\beta; Hβ\beta equivalent width EW(Hβ\beta); and gas-phase metallicity 12+log12 + \log(O/H). We use a calibration sample of 1510 galaxies at 0<z<100 < z < 10 with direct-method metallicity measurements, compiled from the JWST/NIRSpec and ground-based observations. In particular, we report 122 new NIRSpec direct-method metallicity measurements at z>1z > 1. We show that the O2, O3, and EW(Hβ\beta) measurements are sufficient for a gas-phase metallicity estimate that is more accurate than 0.09 dex. Our calibration is universal, meaning that its accuracy does not depend on the target redshift. Furthermore, the direct-method module employs a non-parametric Te{\rm T}_{\rm e}(O II) electron temperature estimator based on a kernel density estimate in the 5-dimensional space of O2, O3, EW(Hβ\beta), Te{\rm T}_{\rm e}(O III), and Te{\rm T}_{\rm e}(O II). This Te{\rm T}_{\rm e}(O II) estimator is calibrated based on 1004 spectra with detections of both [O III]λ4363\lambda 4363 and [O II]λλ7320,30\lambda\lambda 7320,30, notably reporting 20 new NIRSpec detections of the [O II]λλ7320,30\lambda\lambda 7320,30 doublet. We make genesis-metallicity and its calibration data publicly available and commit to keeping both up-to-date in light of the incoming data.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2409.07455,
  title  = {Genesis-Metallicity: Universal Non-Parametric Gas-Phase Metallicity Estimation},
  author = {Danial Langeroodi and Jens Hjorth},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.07455},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae346f

R2 v1 2026-06-28T18:41:33.913Z