Metals in Star-Forming Galaxies at High Redshift
Abstract
The chemical composition of high-redshift galaxies is an important property that gives clues to their past history and future evolution. Measuring abundances in distant galaxies with current techniques is often a challenge, and the canonical metallicity indicators can often not be applied. I discuss currently available metallicity indicators based on stellar and interstellar absorption and emission lines, and assess their limitations and systematic uncertainties. Recent studies suggest that star-forming galaxies at redshift around 3 have heavy-element abundances already close to solar, in agreement with predictions from cosmological models.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0506285,
title = {Metals in Star-Forming Galaxies at High Redshift},
author = {Claus Leitherer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0506285},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
6 pages, 3 figures. Invited talk given at IAU Symp. 228, From Lithium to Uranium, Paris (France), 23 - 27 May, 2005. To be published in: IAU Symp. 228, From Lithium to Uranium, ed. V. Hill, P. Francois, & F. Primas (Cambridge: CUP), in press