Unveiling the Cosmic Chemistry: Revisiting the Mass-Metallicity Relation with JWST/NIRSpec at 4 < z < 10

We present star formation rates (SFR), the mass-metallicity relation (MZR), and the SFR-dependent MZR across redshifts 4 to 10 using 81 star-forming galaxies observed by the JWST NIRSpec employing both low-resolution PRISM and medium-resolution gratings, including galaxies from the JADES GOODS-N and GOODS-S fields, the JWST-PRIMAL Legacy Survey, and additional galaxies from the literature in Abell 2744, SMACS-0723, RXJ2129, BDF, COSMOS, and MACS1149 fields. These galaxies span a 3 dex stellar mass range of 10^7 < M_∗/M_⊙ < 10^10, with an average SFR of 7.2 ± 1.2 M_⊙ yr^-1 and an average metallicity of 12+ log(O/H) = 7.91 ± 0.08. Our findings align with previous observations up to z=8 for the MZR and indicate no deviation from local universe FMR up to this redshift. Beyond z=8, we observe a significant deviation ∼ 0.27 dex) in FMR, consistent with recent JWST findings. We also integrate CEERS (135 galaxies) and JADES (47 galaxies) samples with our data to study metallicity evolution with redshift in a combined sample of 263 galaxies, revealing a decreasing metallicity trend with a slope of 0.067 ± 0.013, consistent with IllustrisTNG and EAGLE, but contradicts with FIRE simulations. We introduce an empirical mass-metallicity-redshift (MZ-z relation): 12+ log(O/H)=6.29 + 0.237 × log(M_∗/M_⊙) - 0.06 × (1+z), which accurately reproduces the observed trends in metallicity with both redshift and stellar mass. This trend underscores the “Grand Challenge” in understanding the factors driving high-redshift galactic metallicity trends, such as inflow, outflow, and AGN/stellar feedback – and emphasizes the need for further investigations with larger samples and enhanced simulations.