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Metals in Star-Forming Galaxies at High Redshift

Claus Leitherer
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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.

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Claus Leitherer. 2005-06-13. Metals in Star-Forming Galaxies at High Redshift. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743921305006459

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