Evolution of the Luminosity-Metallicity-Stellar Mass correlation in a hierarchical scenario

Abstract

We study the evolution of the Stellar Mass-Metallicity Relation and the Luminosity-Metallicity Relation by performing numerical simulations in a cosmological framework. We find that the slope and the zero point of the Luminosity-Metallicity Relation evolve in such a way that, at a given metallicity, systems were ~3 mag brighter at z=3 compared to galaxies in the local universe, which is consistent with the observational trend. The local Stellar Mass-Metallicity Relation shows also a good agreement with recent observations. We identify a characteristic stellar mass M_c ~ 10^(10.2) M_sun/h at which the slope of the Stellar Mass-Metallicity Relation decreases for larger stellar masses. Our results indicate that M_c arises naturally as a consequence of the hierarchical building up of the structure.