LSD and AMAZE: the mass-metallicity relation at z>3

Abstract

We present the first results on galaxy metallicity evolution at z>3 from two projects, LSD (Lyman-break galaxies Stellar populations and Dynamics) and AMAZE (Assessing the Mass Abundance redshift Evolution). These projects use deep near-infrared spectroscopic observations of a sample of ~40 LBGs to estimate the gas-phase metallicity from the emission lines. We derive the mass-metallicity relation at z$>$3 and compare it with the same relation at lower redshift. Strong evolution from z=0 and z=2 to z=3 is observed, and this finding puts strong constrains on the models of galaxy evolution. These preliminary results show that the effective oxygen yields does not increase with stellar mass, implying that the simple outflow model does not apply at z>3.