Browsing by Author "Cullen, F."
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item The VANDELS survey: a strong correlation between Ly α equivalent width and stellar metallicity at 3 ≤ z ≤ 5(Oxford University Press, 2020) Jarvis, M. J.; Cullen, F.; McLure, R. J.We present the results of a new study investigating the relationship between observed Ly α equivalent width (Wλ(Ly α)) and the metallicity of the ionizing stellar population ( Z⋆) for a sample of 768 star-forming galaxies at 3 ≤ z ≤ 5 drawn from the VANDELS survey. Dividing our sample into quartiles of rest-frame Wλ(Ly α) across the range −58A˚≲Wλ(Ly α) ≲110A˚, we determine Z⋆ from full spectral fitting of composite far-ultraviolet spectra and find a clear anticorrelation between Wλ(Ly α) and Z⋆. Our results indicate that Z⋆ decreases by a factor ≳ 3 between the lowest Wλ(Ly α) quartile (〈Wλ(Ly α)⟩=−18A˚) and the highest Wλ(Ly α) quartile (〈Wλ(Ly α)⟩=24A˚). Similarly, galaxies typically defined as Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs; Wλ(Ly α) >20A˚) are, on average, metal poor with respect to the non-LAE galaxy population (Wλ(Ly α) ≤20A˚) with Z⋆non-LAE ≳ 2 × Z⋆LAE.