---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '22264'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'The correlation between galaxy stellar mass and gas-phase metallicity, known
    as the mass–metallicity relation (MZR), gives key insights into the processes
    that govern galaxy evolution. However, unquantified observational and selection
    biases can result in systematic errors in attempts to recover the intrinsic MZR,
    particularly at higher redshifts. We characterize the MZR at z ∼ 3–6 within a
    fully Bayesian framework using JWST/NIRSpec spectra of 191 galaxies from the RUBIES
    survey. We forward model the observed mass–metallicity surface using prospector-generated
    spectra to account for two selection biases: the survey selection function and
    the success in observing high signal-to-noise ratio emission lines. We demonstrate
    that the RUBIES selection function, based on F444W magnitude and F150W – F444W
    color, has a negligible effect on our measured MZR. A correct treatment of the
    non-Gaussian metallicity uncertainties from strong-line calibrations lowers the
    derived MZR normalization by 0.2 dex and flattens the slope by ∼20%; forward modeling
    the effect of emission line observability steepens the slope by ∼15%. Both of
    these biases must be taken into account in order to properly measure the intrinsic
    MZR. This novel forward-modeling process motivates careful consideration of selection
    functions in future surveys, and paves the way for robust, high-redshift chemical
    enrichment studies that trace the evolution of the MZR across cosmic time.'
acknowledgement: "This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James
  Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space
  Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association
  of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127
  for JWST. These observations are associated with program ID 4233. This material
  is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research
  Fellowship under grant No. 2137424 as well as work supported by NASA under Award
  No. 2025_3-0, issued through the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, and JWST-GO-4233.
  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material
  are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
  Aeronautics and Space Administration. Support for program ID 4233 was provided by
  NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated
  by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract
  NAS 5-03127. M.V.M. is supported by the National Science Foundation via grant AAG
  2205519. A.d.G. acknowledges support from a Clay Fellowship awarded by the Smithsonian
  Astrophysical Observatory. T.B.M. was supported by a CIERA Fellowship. Part of the
  computations for this research were performed on the Pennsylvania State University’s
  Institute for Computational and Data Sciences’ Roar supercomputer. Some/all of the
  data presented in this article were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space
  Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The specific observations
  analyzed can be accessed via doi:10.17909/qk5z-7p30. The scripts used to generate
  the data and results in this work can be found in Zenodo at doi:10.5281/zenodo.20513668
  and GitHub  \r\nhttps://github.com/zachlewis99/rubies_mzr "
article_number: '159'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Zach
  full_name: Lewis, Zach
  last_name: Lewis
- first_name: Michael V.
  full_name: Maseda, Michael V.
  last_name: Maseda
- first_name: Anna
  full_name: De Graaff, Anna
  last_name: De Graaff
- first_name: Joel
  full_name: Leja, Joel
  last_name: Leja
- first_name: Bingjie
  full_name: Wang, Bingjie
  last_name: Wang
- first_name: Hans Walter
  full_name: Rix, Hans Walter
  last_name: Rix
- first_name: Ian
  full_name: Mcconachie, Ian
  last_name: Mcconachie
- first_name: Nikko J.
  full_name: Cleri, Nikko J.
  last_name: Cleri
- first_name: Rachel
  full_name: Bezanson, Rachel
  last_name: Bezanson
- first_name: Leindert A.
  full_name: Boogaard, Leindert A.
  last_name: Boogaard
- first_name: Gabriel
  full_name: Brammer, Gabriel
  last_name: Brammer
- first_name: Jenny E.
  full_name: Greene, Jenny E.
  last_name: Greene
- first_name: Michaela
  full_name: Hirschmann, Michaela
  last_name: Hirschmann
- first_name: Harley
  full_name: Katz, Harley
  last_name: Katz
- first_name: Ivo
  full_name: Labbé, Ivo
  last_name: Labbé
- first_name: Jorryt J
  full_name: Matthee, Jorryt J
  id: 7439a258-f3c0-11ec-9501-9df22fe06720
  last_name: Matthee
  orcid: 0000-0003-2871-127X
- first_name: Tim B.
  full_name: Miller, Tim B.
  last_name: Miller
- first_name: Rohan P.
  full_name: Naidu, Rohan P.
  last_name: Naidu
- first_name: Pascal A.
  full_name: Oesch, Pascal A.
  last_name: Oesch
- first_name: David J.
  full_name: Setton, David J.
  last_name: Setton
- first_name: Katherine A.
  full_name: Suess, Katherine A.
  last_name: Suess
- first_name: Andrea
  full_name: Weibel, Andrea
  last_name: Weibel
- first_name: Katherine E.
  full_name: Whitaker, Katherine E.
  last_name: Whitaker
- first_name: Christina C.
  full_name: Williams, Christina C.
  last_name: Williams
citation:
  ama: Lewis Z, Maseda MV, De Graaff A, et al. The mass–metallicity relation and its
    observational effects at z ∼ 3–6. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. 2026;1005(2).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc">10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc</a>
  apa: Lewis, Z., Maseda, M. V., De Graaff, A., Leja, J., Wang, B., Rix, H. W., …
    Williams, C. C. (2026). The mass–metallicity relation and its observational effects
    at z ∼ 3–6. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc</a>
  chicago: Lewis, Zach, Michael V. Maseda, Anna De Graaff, Joel Leja, Bingjie Wang,
    Hans Walter Rix, Ian Mcconachie, et al. “The Mass–Metallicity Relation and Its
    Observational Effects at z ∼ 3–6.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing,
    2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc</a>.
  ieee: Z. Lewis <i>et al.</i>, “The mass–metallicity relation and its observational
    effects at z ∼ 3–6,” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 1005, no. 2. IOP Publishing,
    2026.
  ista: Lewis Z, Maseda MV, De Graaff A, Leja J, Wang B, Rix HW, Mcconachie I, Cleri
    NJ, Bezanson R, Boogaard LA, Brammer G, Greene JE, Hirschmann M, Katz H, Labbé
    I, Matthee JJ, Miller TB, Naidu RP, Oesch PA, Setton DJ, Suess KA, Weibel A, Whitaker
    KE, Williams CC. 2026. The mass–metallicity relation and its observational effects
    at z ∼ 3–6. The Astrophysical Journal. 1005(2), 159.
  mla: Lewis, Zach, et al. “The Mass–Metallicity Relation and Its Observational Effects
    at z ∼ 3–6.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 1005, no. 2, 159, IOP Publishing,
    2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc">10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc</a>.
  short: Z. Lewis, M.V. Maseda, A. De Graaff, J. Leja, B. Wang, H.W. Rix, I. Mcconachie,
    N.J. Cleri, R. Bezanson, L.A. Boogaard, G. Brammer, J.E. Greene, M. Hirschmann,
    H. Katz, I. Labbé, J.J. Matthee, T.B. Miller, R.P. Naidu, P.A. Oesch, D.J. Setton,
    K.A. Suess, A. Weibel, K.E. Whitaker, C.C. Williams, The Astrophysical Journal
    1005 (2026).
das_tickbox: '1'
dataavailabilitystatement: The specific observations analyzed can be accessed via
  doi:10.17909/qk5z-7p30. The scripts used to generate the data and results in this
  work can be found in Zenodo at doi:10.5281/zenodo.20513668 and GitHub https://github.com/zachlewis99/rubies_mzr
date_created: 2026-07-12T22:02:17Z
date_published: 2026-07-10T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-07-13T07:40:41Z
day: '10'
ddc:
- '520'
department:
- _id: JoMa
doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2512.03134'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 9b13fbbc5e5e921c04676ebc532d9c42
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-07-13T07:35:16Z
  date_updated: 2026-07-13T07:35:16Z
  file_id: '22273'
  file_name: 2026_AstrophysicalJour_Lewis.pdf
  file_size: 1854628
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file_date_updated: 2026-07-13T07:35:16Z
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfc
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '      1005'
issue: '2'
keyword:
- Galaxy evolution
- Chemical enrichment
- Metallicity
- Galaxy abundances
- Scaling relations
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: The Astrophysical Journal
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1538-4357
  issn:
  - 0004-637X
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: yes
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
supplementarymaterial: no
title: The mass–metallicity relation and its observational effects at z ∼ 3–6
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 1005
year: '2026'
...