SDSS-IV MaNGA: Exploring the Local Scaling Relations for N/O

We present, for the first time, the relationship between local stellar mass surface density, Σ*, and N/O derived from SDSS-IV MaNGA data, using a sample of 792,765 high signal-to-noise ratio star-forming spaxels. Using a combination of phenomenological modeling and partial correlation analysis, we find that Σ* alone is insufficient to predict the N/O in MaNGA spaxels and that there is an additional dependence on the local star formation rate surface density, ΣSFR. This effect is a factor of 3 stronger than the dependence of 12+log(O/H) on ΣSFR. Surprisingly, we find that the local N/O scaling relations also depend on the total galaxy stellar mass at fixed Σ* and the galaxy size at fixed stellar mass. We find that more compact galaxies are more nitrogen rich, even when Σ* and ΣSFR are controlled for. We show that ∼50% of the variance of N/O is explained by the total stellar mass and size. Thus, the evolution of nitrogen in galaxies is set by more than just local effects and does not simply track the buildup of oxygen in galaxies. The precise form of the N/O–O/H relation is therefore sensitive to the sample of galaxies from which it is derived. This result casts doubt on the universal applicability of nitrogen-based strong-line metallicity indicators derived in the local universe.