The LEGA-C and SAMI galaxy surveys: quiescent stellar populations and the mass-size plane across 6 Gyr

We investigate changes in stellar population age and metallicity ([Z/H]) scaling relations for quiescent galaxies from intermediate redshift (0.60 ≤ z ≤ 0.76) using the LEGA-C Survey to low redshift (0.014 ≤ z ≤ 0.10) using the SAMI Galaxy Survey. Specifically, we study how the spatially integrated global age and metallicity of individual quiescent galaxies vary in the mass-size plane, using the stellar mass M∗ and a dynamical mass proxy derived from the virial theorem M_D α σ² R_e. We find that, similarly to at low redshift, the metallicity of quiescent galaxies at 0.60 ≤ z ≤ 0.76 closely correlates with M/R_e (a proxy for the gravitational potential or escape velocity), in that galaxies with deeper potential wells are more metal-rich. This supports the hypothesis that the relation arises due to the gravitational potential regulating the retention of metals by determining the escape velocity for metal-rich stellar and supernova ejecta to escape the system and avoid being recycled into later stellar generations. Conversely, we find no correlation between age and surface density (M/R_e²) at 0.60 ≤ z ≤ 0.76, despite this relation being strong at low redshift. We consider this change in the age-M/R_e² relation in the context of the redshift evolution of the star-forming and quiescent mass-size relations, and find our results are consistent with galaxies forming more compactly at higher redshifts and remaining compact throughout their evolution. Furthermore, galaxies appear to quench at a characteristic surface density that decreases with decreasing redshift. The z ∼ 0 age-M/R_e² relation is therefore a result of building up the quiescent and star-forming populations with galaxies that formed at a range of redshifts and therefore a range of surface densities.