Speaker
Description
The MUSE Ultra-Deep Field (MUDF) is the deepest field observed with MUSE to-date, with over 140h of observations covering a 2’x2’ field centered on a pair of z~3 quasars. This is accompanied by numerous datasets from other instruments including ALMA, HAWK-I, UVES, and XMM-Newton, as well as multi-band HST imaging and the deepest ever WFC3 grism survey. We measure morphologies, stellar masses, and star-formation rates (SFRs) for over 400 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts across a wide range of environments. Our spectra also allow us to measure metallicities for many of these galaxies, alongside hundreds of metal absorption features arising from the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium (CGM and IGM) along the two quasar sightlines. Combined, these data provide unprecedented insight into the properties of low-mass galaxies since cosmic noon and the cycle of metals between galaxies and their surroundings.
I will discuss two main results enabled by this remarkable dataset. First, we extend measurements of the star-forming main sequence and mass-metallicity relation (MZR) to low stellar masses of 10^7 solar and star-formation rates ~1 dex lower than previous works, finding that the low-mass slope of the MZR depends on SFR but does not flatten at our lowest masses. Using auroral emission lines, we also confirm that strong-line calibrations can reliably be used to measure metallicities out to redshifts of at least z~2.5. Second, we find more CGM absorption along the major and minor axis of star-forming galaxies, consistent with lower-redshift studies and indicating that star formation is an important driver of the cycle of metals through low-mass galaxies since cosmic noon.
