Metallicity gradients in local field star-forming galaxies: Insights on
  inflows, outflows, and the coevolution of gas, stars and metals
  We present metallicity gradients in 49 local field star-forming galaxies. We
derive gas-phase oxygen abundances using two widely adopted metallicity
calibrations based on the [OIII]/Hbeta, [NII]/Halpha and [NII]/[OII] line
ratios. The two derived metallicity gradients are usually in good agreement
within +/-0.14 dex/R25 (R25 is the B-band iso-photoal radius), but the
metallicity gradients can differ significantly when the ionisation parameters
change systematically with radius. We investigate the metallicity gradients as
a function of stellar mass (8<log(M*/Msun)<11) and absolute B-band luminosity
(-16 > MB > -22). When the metallicity gradients are expressed in dex/kpc, we
show that galaxies with lower mass and luminosity, on average, have steeper
metallicity gradients. When the metallicity gradients are expressed in dex/R25,
we find no correlation between the metallicity gradients, and stellar mass and
luminosity. We provide a local benchmark metallicity gradient of field
star-forming galaxies useful for comparison with studies at high redshifts. We
investigate the origin of the local benchmark gradient using simple chemical
evolution models and observed gas and stellar surface density profiles in
nearby field spiral galaxies. Our models suggest that the local benchmark
gradient is a direct result of the coevolution of gas and stellar disk under
virtually closed-box chemical evolution when the stellar-to-gas mass ratio
becomes high (>>0.3). These models imply low current mass accretion rates
(<0.3xSFR), and low mass outflow rates (<3xSFR) in local field star-forming
galaxies.
