A theoretical investigation of far-infrared fine structure lines at z>6 and of the origin of the [OIII]_88μm/[CII]_158μm enhancement

The far-infrared (FIR) fine structure lines CII _158μ m OIII _88μ m NII _122μ m, and NIII _57μ m are excellent tools for probing the physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM). The OIII _88μ m/ CII _158μ m and OIII _88μ m/ NII _122μ m luminosity ratios have shown to be promising tracers of the ionisation state and gas-phase metallicity of the ISM. Observations of galaxies at redshift z > 6 show unusually high OIII _88μ m/ CII _158μ m luminosity ratios compared to local sources. The origin of the enhanced ratios has been investigated in the literature with different theoretical modelling approaches. However, no model has to date successfully managed to match the observed emission from both OIII _88μ m and CII _158μ m, as well as their ratio. For this study we used Cloudy to model the CII _158μ m OIII _88μ m NII _122μ m, and NIII _57μ m emission lines of Ponos a high-resolution (m_ gas = 883.4, M_⊙) cosmological zoom-in simulation of a galaxy at redshift z = 6.5, which is post-processed using kramses-rt . We modify carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen abundances in our Cloudy models to obtain C/O and N/O abundance ratios respectively lower and higher than solar, more in line with recent high-z observational constraints. We find OIII _88μ m/ CII _158μ m luminosity ratios that are a factor of ∼ 5 higher compared to models assuming solar abundances. Additionally, we find an overall better agreement of the simulation with high-z observational constraints of the CII _158μ m-SFR and OIII _88μ m-SFR relations. This shows that a lower C/O abundance ratio is essential to reproduce the enhanced OIII _88μ m/ CII _158μ m luminosity ratios observed at z > 6. By assuming a super-solar N/O ratio, motivated by recent z > 6 JWST observations, our models yield an OIII _88μ m/ NII _122μ m ratio of $1.3$, which, according to current theoretical models, would be more appropriate for a galaxy with a lower ionisation parameter than the one we estimated for Ponos . Most current simulations adopt solar abundance patterns that are not adequate for recently observed high-z predictions. Our results showcase the importance of theoretical modelling efforts, coupled with high-resolution zoom-in simulations, and with parallel multi-tracer observations to understand the physical and chemical conditions of the ISM at z > 6.