Astrochemistry

The Earliest Phases of CNO Enrichment in Galaxies

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.GA
June 24, 2024
Filed under , , , , , , , , ,
The Earliest Phases of CNO Enrichment in Galaxies
Predicted log(N/O) vs log(O/H)+12 for GN-z11. Different evolutionary tracks represent different Pop III star-forming clumps, which merge into the main-branch of the galaxy. The tracks are colour-coded in time (left) and stellar mass (right). The light-purple trapezoid, the dark-purple rectangle and the grey stripe represent the conservative and fiducial results for the abundances of GN-z11 by Cameron et al. (2023). The blue points are the photoionisation modelling results for GN-z11 by Senchyna et al. (2023). — astro-ph.GA

Context. The recent detection of nitrogen-enhanced, metal-poor galaxies at high redshift by the James Webb Space Telescope has sparked renewed interest in exploring the chemical evolution of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (the CNO elements) at early times, prompting fresh inquiries into their origins.

Aims. The main goal of this paper is to shed light onto the early evolution of the main CNO isotopes in our Galaxy and in young distant systems, such as GN-z11 at z=10.6. Methods. To this aim, we incorporate a stochastic star-formation component into a chemical evolution model calibrated with high-quality Milky Way (MW) data, focusing on the contribution of Population III (Pop III) stars to the early chemical enrichment.

Results. By comparing the model predictions with CNO abundance measurements from high-resolution spectroscopy of an homogeneous sample of Galactic halo stars, we first demonstrate that the scatter observed in the metallicity range -4.5 < [Fe/H] <-1.5 can be explained by pre-enrichment from Pop III stars that explode as supernovae (SNe) with different initial masses and energies.

Then, by exploiting the chemical evolution model, we provide testable predictions for log(C/N), log(N/O), and log(C/O) vs. log(O/H)+12 in MW-like galaxies observed at different cosmic epochs/redshifts. Finally, by calibrating the chemical evolution model to replicate the observed properties of GN-z11, we provide an alternative interpretation of its log(N/O) abundance ratio, demonstrating that its high N content can be reproduced through enrichment from high-mass faint Pop III SNe.

Conclusions. Stochastic chemical enrichment from primordial stars explains both the observed scatter in CNO abundances in MW halo stars and the exceptionally high N/O ratios in some distant galaxies. These findings emphasize the critical role of Pop III stars in shaping early chemical evolution.

Martina Rossi, Donatella Romano, Alessio Mucciarelli, Edoardo Ceccarelli, Davide Massari, Giovanni Zamorani

Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as: arXiv:2406.14615 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2406.14615v1 [astro-ph.GA] for this version)
Submission history
From: Martina Rossi Mrs
[v1] Thu, 20 Jun 2024 18:00:01 UTC (16,444 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.14615
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻