Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Niv Drory

Publications and source records attributed to Niv Drory.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

SDSS-IV MaNGA: A Catalogue of Spectroscopically Detected Strong Galaxy-Galaxy Lens Candidates

We spectroscopically detected candidate emission-lines of 8 likely, 17 probable, and 69 possible strong galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens candidates found within the spectra of ~10,000 galaxy targets contained within the completed Mapping of Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey. This search is based upon the methodology of the Spectroscopic Identification of Lensing Objects (SILO) project, which extends the spectroscopic detection methods of the BOSS Emission-Line Lensing Survey (BELLS) and the Sloan Lens ACS Survey (SLACS). We scanned the co-added residuals that we constructed from stacks of foreground subtracted row-stacked-spectra (RSS) so a sigma-clipping method can be used to reject cosmic-rays and other forms of transients that impact only a small fraction of the combined exposures. We also constructed narrow-band images from the signal-to-noise of the co-added residuals to observe signs of lensed source images. We also use several methods to compute the probable strong lensing regime for each candidate lens to determine which candidate background galaxies may reside sufficiently near the galaxy centre for strong lensing to occur. We present the spectroscopic redshifts within a value-added catalogue (VAC) for data release 17 (DR17) of SDSS-IV. We also present the lens candidates, spectroscopic data, and narrow-band images within a VAC for DR17. High resolution follow-up imaging of these lens candidates are expected to yield a sample of confirmed grade-A lenses with sufficient angular size to probe possible discrepancies between the mass derived from a best-fitting lens model, and the dynamical mass derived from the observed stellar velocities.

astro-ph.GA↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: How the stellar populations of passive central galaxies depend on stellar and halo mass

We analyze spatially resolved and co-added SDSS-IV MaNGA spectra with signal-to-noise ~100 from 2200 passive central galaxies (z~0.05) to understand how central galaxy assembly depends on stellar mass (M*) and halo mass (Mh). We control for systematic errors in Mh by employing a new group catalog from Tinker (2020a,b) and the widely-used Yang et al. (2007) catalog. At fixed M*, the strength of several stellar absorption features varies systematically with Mh. Completely model-free, this is one of the first indications that the stellar populations of centrals with identical M* are affected by the properties of their host halos. To interpret these variations, we applied full spectral fitting with the code alf. At fixed M*, centrals in more massive halos are older, show lower [Fe/H], and have higher [Mg/Fe] with 3.5 sigma confidence. We conclude that halos not only dictate how much M* galaxies assemble, but also modulate their chemical enrichment histories. Turning to our analysis at fixed Mh, high-M* centrals are older, show lower [Fe/H], and have higher [Mg/Fe] for Mh>10^{12}Msun/h with confidence > 4 sigma. While massive passive galaxies are thought to form early and rapidly, our results are among the first to distinguish these trends at fixed Mh. They suggest that high-M* centrals experienced unique early formation histories, either through enhanced collapse and gas fueling, or because their halos were early-forming and highly concentrated, a possible signal of galaxy assembly bias.

astro-ph.GA↗

The MaNGA FIREFLY Value-Added-Catalogue: resolved stellar populations of 10,010 nearby galaxies

We present the MaNGA FIREFLY Value-Added-Catalogue (VAC) - a catalogue of ~3.7 million spatially resolved stellar population properties across 10,010 nearby galaxies from the final data release of the MaNGA survey. The full spectral fitting code firefly is employed to derive parameters such as stellar ages, metallicities, stellar and remnant masses, star formation histories, star formation rates and dust attenuation. In addition to Voronoi-binned measurements, our VAC also provides global properties, such as central values and radial gradients. Two variants of the VAC are available: presenting the results from fits using the M11-MILES and the novel MaStar stellar population models. MaStar allows to constrain the fit over the whole MaNGA wavelength range, extends the age-metallicity parameter space, and uses empirical spectra from the same instrument as MaNGA. The fits employing MaStar models find on average slightly younger ages, higher mass-weighted metallicities and smaller colour excesses. These differences are reduced when matching wavelength range and converging template grids. We further report that FIREFLY stellar masses are systematically lower by ~0.3 dex than masses from the MaNGA PCA and Pipe3D VACs, but match masses from the NSA best with only ~0.1 dex difference. Finally, we show that FIREFLY stellar ages correlate with spectral index age indicators H$δ_A$ and $D_n$(4000), though with a clear additional metallicity dependence.

astro-ph.GA↗

Spectral Evidence of Solar Neighborhood Analogs in CALIFA Galaxies

We introduce a novel non-parametric method to find solar neighborhood analogs (SNAs) in extragalactic IFS surveys. The main ansatz is that the physical properties of the solar neighborhood (SN) should be encoded in its optical stellar spectrum. We assume that our best estimate of such spectrum is the one extracted from the analysis performed by the Code for Stellar properties Heuristic Assignment (\textsc{CoSHA}) from the MaStar stellar library. It follows that finding SNAs in other galaxies consist in matching, in a $χ^2$ sense, the SN reference spectrum across the optical extent of the observed galaxies. We apply this procedure to a selection of CALIFA galaxies, by requiring a close to face-on projection, relative isolation and non-AGN. We explore how the local and global properties of the SNAs (stellar age, metallicity, dust extinction, mass-to-light ratio, stellar surface mass and star-formation densities and galactocentric distance) and their corresponding host galaxies (morphological type, total stellar mass, star-formation rate, effective radius) compare with those of the SN and the Milky Way (MW). We find that SNAs are located preferentially in S(B)a~--~S(B)c galaxies, in a ring-like structure, which radii seems to scale with the galaxy size. Despite the known sources of systematics and errors, {most} properties present a considerable agreement with the literature on the SN. We conclude that the solar neighborhood is relatively common in our sample of SNAs. Our results warrants a systematic exploration of correlations among the physical properties of the SNAs and their host galaxies. We reckon that our method should inform current models of the galactic habitable zone in our MW and other galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Exploring the local scaling relations for N/O

We present, for the first time, the relationship between local stellar mass surface density, $\mathrm{Σ_{*}}$, and N/O derived from SDSS-IV MaNGA data, using a sample of $792765$ high signal-to-noise ratio star-forming spaxels. Using a combination of phenomenological modelling and partial correlation analysis, we find that $\mathrm{Σ_{*}}$ alone is insufficient to predict the N/O in MaNGA spaxels, and that there is an additional dependence on the local star formation rate surface density, $\mathrm{Σ_{SFR}}$. This effect is a factor of $3$ stronger than the dependence of 12+log(O/H) on $\mathrm{Σ_{SFR}}$. Surprisingly, we find that the local N/O scaling relations also depend on the total galaxy stellar mass at fixed $Σ_{*}$ as well as the galaxy size at fixed stellar mass. We find that more compact galaxies are more nitrogen rich, even when $\mathrm{Σ_{*}}$ and $\mathrm{Σ_{SFR}}$ are controlled for. We show that $\sim50\%$ of the variance of N/O is explained by the total stellar mass and size. Thus, the evolution of nitrogen in galaxies is set by more than just local effects and does not simply track the build up of oxygen in galaxies. The precise form of the N/O-O/H relation is therefore sensitive to the sample of galaxies from which it is derived. This result casts doubt on the universal applicability of nitrogen-based strong-line metallicity indicators derived in the local universe.

astro-ph.GA↗

Photometric Signature of Ultra-Harmonic Resonances in Barred Galaxies

Bars may induce morphological features, such as rings, through their resonances. Previous studies suggested that the presence of 'dark-gaps', or regions of a galaxy where the difference between the surface brightness along the bar major axis and along the bar minor axis are maximal, can be attributed to the location of bar corotation. Here, using GALAKOS, a high-resolution N-body simulation of a barred galaxy, we test this photometric method's ability to identify the bar corotation resonance. Contrary to previous work, our results indicate that 'dark-gaps' are a clear sign of the location of the 4:1 ultra-harmonic resonance instead of bar corotation. Measurements of the bar corotation can indirectly be inferred using kinematic information, e.g., by measuring the shape of the rotation curve. We demonstrate our concept on a sample of 578 face-on barred galaxies with both imaging and integral field observations and find the sample likely consists primarily of fast bars.

astro-ph.GA↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Understanding Ionized Gas Turbulence using Integral Field Spectroscopy of 4500 Star-Forming Disk Galaxies

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey MaNGA program has now obtained integral field spectroscopy for over 10,000 galaxies in the nearby universe. We use the final MaNGA data release DR17 to study the correlation between ionized gas velocity dispersion and galactic star formation rate, finding a tight correlation in which sigma_Ha from galactic HII regions increases significantly from ~ 18-30 km/s broadly in keeping with previous studies. In contrast, sigma_Ha from diffuse ionized gas (DIG) increases more rapidly from 20-60 km/s. Using the statistical power of MaNGA, we investigate these correlations in greater detail using multiple emission lines and determine that the observed correlation of sigma_Ha with local star formation rate surface density is driven primarily by the global relation of increasing velocity dispersion at higher total SFR, as are apparent correlations with stellar mass. Assuming HII region models consistent with our finding that sigma_[O III] < sigma_Ha < sigma_[O I], we estimate the velocity dispersion of the molecular gas in which individual HII regions are embedded, finding values sigma_Mol = 5-30 km/s consistent with ALMA observations in a similar mass range. Finally, we use variations in the relation with inclination and disk azimuthal angle to constrain the velocity dispersion ellipsoid of the ionized gas sigma_z/sigma_r = 0.84 +- 0.03 and sigma_phi/sigma_r = 0.91 +- 0.03, similar to that of young stars in the Galactic disk. Our results are most consistent with theoretical models in which turbulence in modern galactic disks is driven primarily by star formation feedback.

astro-ph.GA↗

Chemical evolution history of MaNGA galaxies

We show the results of a study using the spectral synthesis technique study for the full MaNGA sample showing their Chemical Enrichment History (ChEH) as well as the evolution of the stellar mass-metallicity relation (MZR) over cosmic time. We find that the more massive galaxies became enriched first and the lower mass galaxies did so later, producing a change in the MZR which becomes shallower in time. Separating the sample into morphology and star-forming status bins some particularly interesting results appear: The mass dependency of the MZR becomes less relevant for later morphological types, to the extent that it inverts for Sd/Irr galaxies, suggesting that morphology is at least as important a factor as mass in chemical evolution. The MZR for the full sample shows a flattening at the high-mass end and another at the low-mass range, but the former only appears for retired galaxies while the latter only appears for star-forming galaxies. We also find that the average metallicity gradient is currently negative for all mass bins but for low mass galaxies it was inverted at some point in the past, before which all galaxies had a positive gradient. We also compare how diverse the ChEHs are in the different bins considered as well as what primarily drives the diversity: How much galaxies become enriched or how quickly they do so.

astro-ph.GA↗

The HETDEX Instrumentation: Hobby-Eberly Telescope Wide Field Upgrade and VIRUS

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) is undertaking a blind wide-field low-resolution spectroscopic survey of 540 square degrees of sky to identify and derive redshifts for a million Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the redshift range 1.9 < z < 3.5. The ultimate goal is to measure the expansion rate of the Universe at this epoch, to sharply constrain cosmological parameters and thus the nature of dark energy. A major multi-year wide field upgrade (WFU) of the HET was completed in 2016 that substantially increased the field of view to 22 arcminutes diameter and the pupil to 10 meters, by replacing the optical corrector, tracker, and prime focus instrument package and by developing a new telescope control system. The new, wide-field HET now feeds the Visible Integral-field Replicable Unit Spectrograph (VIRUS), a new low-resolution integral field spectrograph (LRS2), and the Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HPF), a precision near-infrared radial velocity spectrograph. VIRUS consists of 156 identical spectrographs fed by almost 35,000 fibers in 78 integral field units arrayed at the focus of the upgraded HET. VIRUS operates in a bandpass of 3500-5500 Angstroms with resolving power R~800. VIRUS is the first example of large scale replication applied to instrumentation in optical astronomy to achieve spectroscopic surveys of very large areas of sky. This paper presents technical details of the HET WFU and VIRUS, as flowed-down from the HETDEX science requirements, along with experience from commissioning this major telescope upgrade and the innovative instrumentation suite for HETDEX.

astro-ph.IM↗

SDSS-IV MaStar: Data-driven Parameter Derivation for the MaStar Stellar Library

The MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) is a large collection of high-quality empirical stellar spectra designed to cover all spectral types and ideal for use in the stellar population analysis of galaxies observed in the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey. The library contains 59,266 spectra of 24,130 unique stars with spectral resolution $R\sim1800$ and covering a wavelength range of $3,622-10,354$ Å. In this work, we derive five physical parameters for each spectrum in the library: effective temperature ($T_{eff}$), surface gravity ($\log g$), metalicity ($[Fe/H]$), micro-turbulent velocity ($\log(v_{micro})$), and alpha-element abundance ($[α/Fe]$). These parameters are derived with a flexible data-driven algorithm that uses a neural network model. We train a neural network using the subset of 1,675 MaStar targets that have also been observed in the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), adopting the independently-derived APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundance Pipeline (ASPCAP) parameters for this reference set. For the regions of parameter space not well represented by the APOGEE training set ($7,000 \leq T \leq 30,000$ K), we supplement with theoretical model spectra. We present our derived parameters along with an analysis of the uncertainties and comparisons to other analyses from the literature.

astro-ph.IM↗

SDSS-IV MaStar: Theoretical Atmospheric Parameters for the MaNGA Stellar Library

We calculate the fundamental stellar parameters effective temperature, surface gravity and iron abundance - T$_{\rm eff}$, log g, [Fe/H] - for the final release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) Stellar Library (MaStar), containing 59,266 per-visit-spectra for 24,290 unique stars at intermediate resolution ($R\sim1800$) and high S/N (median = 96). We fit theoretical spectra from model atmospheres by both MARCS and BOSZ-ATLAS9 to the observed MaStar spectra, using the full spectral fitting code pPXF. We further employ a Bayesian approach, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to map the parameter space and obtain uncertainties. Originally in this paper, we cross match MaStar observations with Gaia photometry, which enable us to set reliable priors and identify outliers according to stellar evolution. In parallel to the parameter determination, we calculate corresponding stellar population models to test the reliability of the parameters for each stellar evolutionary phase. We further assess our procedure by determining parameters for standard stars such as the Sun and Vega and by comparing our parameters with those determined in the literature from high-resolution spectroscopy (APOGEE and SEGUE) and from lower-resolution matching template (LAMOST). The comparisons, considering the different methodologies and S/N of the literature surveys, are favourable in all cases. Our final parameter catalogue for MaStar cover the following ranges: $2592 \leq $ T$_{\rm eff} \leq 32983\;$K; $-0.7 \leq $ log g $ \leq 5.4\;$dex; $-2.9 \leq $ [Fe/H] $\leq 1.0\;$dex and will be available with the last SDSS-IV Data Release, in December 2021.

astro-ph.GA↗

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) Survey Design, Reductions, and Detections

We describe the survey design, calibration, commissioning, and emission-line detection algorithms for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). The goal of HETDEX is to measure the redshifts of over a million Ly$α$ emitting galaxies between 1.88<z<3.52, in a 540 deg^2 area encompassing a co-moving volume of 10.9 Gpc^3. No pre-selection of targets is involved; instead the HETDEX measurements are accomplished via a spectroscopic survey using a suite of wide-field integral field units distributed over the focal plane of the telescope. This survey measures the Hubble expansion parameter and angular diameter distance, with a final expected accuracy of better than 1%. We detail the project's observational strategy, reduction pipeline, source detection, and catalog generation, and present initial results for science verification in the COSMOS, Extended Groth Strip, and GOODS-N fields. We demonstrate that our data reach the required specifications in throughput, astrometric accuracy, flux limit, and object detection, with the end products being a catalog of emission-line sources, their object classifications, and flux-calibrated spectra.

astro-ph.IM↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: drivers of stellar metallicity in nearby galaxies

The distribution of stellar metallicities within and across galaxies is an excellent relic of the chemical evolution across cosmic time. We present a detailed analysis of spatially resolved stellar populations based on $>2.6$ million spatial bins from 7439 nearby galaxies in the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey. To account for accurate inclination corrections, we derive an equation for morphology dependent determination of galaxy inclinations. Our study goes beyond the well-known global mass-metallicity relation and radial metallicity gradients by providing a statistically sound exploration of local relations between stellar metallicity $[Z/H]$, stellar surface mass density $Σ_\star$ and galactocentric distance in the global mass-morphology plane. We find a significant resolved mass density-metallicity relation $\rm rΣ_\star ZR$ for galaxies of all types and masses above $10^{9.8}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$. Different radial distances make an important contribution to the spread of the relation. Particularly, in low and intermediate mass galaxies, we find that at fixed $Σ_\star$ metallicity increases with radius independently of morphology. For high masses, this radial dependence is only observed in high $Σ_\star$ regions of spiral galaxies. This result calls for a driver of metallicity, in addition to $Σ_\star$ that promotes chemical enrichment in the outer parts of galaxies more strongly than in the inner parts. We discuss gas accretion, outflows, recycling and radial migration as possible scenarios.

astro-ph.GA↗

Capturing the physics of MaNGA galaxies with self-supervised Machine Learning

As available data sets grow in size and complexity, advanced visualization tools enabling their exploration and analysis become more important. In modern astronomy, integral field spectroscopic galaxy surveys are a clear example of increasing dimensionality and complexity of datasets, which challenge the traditional methods used to extract the physical information they contain. We present the use of a novel self-supervised Machine Learning method to visualize the multi-dimensional information on stellar population and kinematics in the MaNGA survey in a two dimensional plane. Our framework is insensitive to non-physical properties such as the size of integral field unit (IFU) and is therefore able to order galaxies according to their resolved physical properties. Using the extracted representations, we study how galaxies distribute based on their resolved and global physical properties. We show that even when using exclusively information about the internal structure, galaxies naturally cluster into two well-known categories from a purely data driven perspective: rotating main-sequence disks and massive slow rotators, hence confirming distinct assembly channels. Low-mass rotation-dominated quenched galaxies appear only as a third cluster if information about the integrated physical properties is preserved, suggesting a mixture of assembly processes for these galaxies without any particular signature in their internal kinematics that distinguishes them from the two main groups. The framework for data exploration is publicly released with this publication, ready to be used with the MaNGA or other integral field data sets.

astro-ph.GA↗

The Physics of the Coronal Line Region for Galaxies in MaNGA

The fundamental nature and extent of the coronal line region (CLR), which may serve as a vital tracer for Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) activity, remain unresolved. Previous studies suggest that the CLR is produced by AGN-driven outflows and occupies a distinct region between the broad line region and the narrow line region, which places it tens to hundreds of parsecs from the galactic center. Here, we investigate 10 coronal line (CL; ionization potential $\ge$ 100 eV) emitting galaxies from the SDSS-IV MaNGA catalog with emission from one or more CLs detected at $\ge$ $5σ$ above the continuum in at least 10 spaxels - the largest such MaNGA catalog. We find that the CLR is far more extended, reaching out to 1.3 - 23 kpc from the galactic center. We cross-match our sample of 10 CL galaxies with the largest existing MaNGA AGN catalog and identify 7 in it; two of the remaining three are galaxy mergers and the final one is an AGN candidate. Further, we measure the average CLR electron temperatures to range between 12,331 K - 22,530 K, slightly above the typical threshold for pure AGN photoionization ($\sim$ 20,000 K) and indicative of shocks (e.g., merger-induced or from supernova remnants) in the CLR. We reason that ionizing photons emitted by the central continuum source (i.e. AGN photoionization) primarily generate the CLs, and that energetic shocks are an additional ionization mechanism that likely produce the most extended CLRs we measure.

astro-ph.GA↗

Signatures of inflowing gas in red geyser galaxies hosting radio-AGN

We study cool neutral gas traced by NaD absorption in 140 local ($\rm z<0.1)$ early-type ``red geyser'' galaxies. These galaxies show unique signatures in spatially-resolved strong-line emission maps that have been interpreted as large-scale active galactic nuclei driven ionized winds. To investigate the possible fuel source for these winds, we examine the abundance and kinematics of cool gas ($\rm T \sim 100-1000 K$) inferred from Na I D absorption in red geysers and matched control samples drawn from SDSS-IV MaNGA. We find that red geysers host greater amounts of NaD-associated material. Substantial cool gas components are detected in more than $\rm 50 \%$ of red geysers (compared to 25\% of the control sample) going up to 78$\%$ for radio-detected red geysers. Our key result is that cool gas in red geysers is predominantly infalling. Among our 30 radio-detected red geysers, 86$\%$ show receding NaD absorption velocities (with respect to the systemic velocity) between $\rm 40 - 50~km~s^{-1}$. We verify this result by stacking NaD profiles across each sample which confirms the presence of infalling NaD velocities within red geysers ( $\sim\rm 40~km~s^{-1}$) with no velocity offsets detected in the control samples. Interpreting our observations as signatures of inflowing cool neutral clouds, we derive an approximate mass inflow rate of $\rm \dot{M}_{in} \sim 0.1 M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$, similar to that expected from minor merging and internal recycling. Some red geysers show much higher rates ($\rm \dot{M}_{in} \sim 5 M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$) that may indicate an ongoing accretion event.

astro-ph.GA↗

Estimating dust attenuation from galactic spectra. II. Stellar and gas attenuation in star-forming and diffuse ionized gas regions in MaNGA

We investigate the dust attenuation in both stellar populations and ionized gas in kpc-scale regions in nearby galaxies, using integral field spectroscopy data from MaNGA MPL-9. We identify star-forming (HII) and diffuse ionized gas (DIG) regions from MaNGA datacubes. From the stacked spectrum of each region, we measure the stellar attenuation, $E(B-V)_{\rm star}$, using the technique developed by Li et al.(2020), as well as the gas attenuation, $E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$, from the Balmer decrement. We then examine the correlation of $E(B-V)_{\rm star}$, $E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$, $E(B-V)_{\rm gas}-E(B-V)_{\rm star}$ and $E(B-V)_{\rm star}/E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$ with 16 regional/global properties, and for regions with different $\rm Hα$ surface brightnesses ($Σ_{\rm Hα}$). We find a stronger correlation between $E(B-V)_{\rm star}$ and $E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$ in regions of higher $Σ_{\rm Hα}$. Luminosity-weighted age ($t_L$) is found to be the property that is the most strongly correlated with $E(B-V)_{\rm star}$, and consequently with $E(B-V)_{\rm gas}-E(B-V)_{\rm star}$ and $E(B-V)_{\rm star}/E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$. At fixed $Σ_{\rm Hα}$, $\log_{10}t_L$ is linearly and negatively correlated with $E(B-V)_{\rm star}/E(B-V)_{\rm gas}$ at all ages. Gas-phase metallicity and ionization level are important for the attenuation in the gas. Our results indicate that the ionizing source for DIG regions is likely distributed in the outer-skirt of galaxies, while for HII regions our results can be well explained by the two-component dust model of Charlot & Fall (2000).

astro-ph.GA↗

HETDEX [OIII] Emitters I: A spectroscopically selected low-redshift population of low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies

We assemble a sample of 17 low metallicity (7.45 < log(O/H)+12 < 8.12) galaxies with z < 0.1 found spectroscopically, without photometric pre-selection, in early data from the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Star forming galaxies that occupy the lowest mass and metallicity end of the mass-metallicity relation tend to be under sampled in continuum-based surveys as their spectra are typically dominated by emission from newly forming stars. We search for galaxies with high [OIII]$λ$5007 / [OII]$λ$3727, implying highly ionized nebular emission often indicative of low metallicity systems. With the Second Generation Low Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby Eberly Telescope we acquired follow-up spectra, with higher resolution and broader wavelength coverage, of each low-metallicity candidate in order to confirm the redshift, measure the H$α$ and [NII] line strengths and, in many cases, obtain deeper spectra of the blue lines. We find our galaxies are consistent with the mass-metallicity relation of typical low mass galaxies. However, galaxies in our sample tend to have similar specific star formation rates (sSFRs) as the incredibly rare "blueberry" galaxies found in (Yang et. al. 2017). We illustrate the power of spectroscopic surveys for finding low mass and metallicity galaxies and reveal that we find a sample of galaxies that are a hybrid between the properties of typical dwarf galaxies and the more extreme blueberry galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗