[O III] / [N II] as an abundance indicator at high redshift

Among 'empirical' methods of estimating oxygen abundances in extragalactic H II regions, the use of the ratio of nebular lines of [O III] and [N II], first introduced by Alloin et al., is reappraised with modern calibration data and shown to have certain advantages over Ρ 23 ≡ ([On] + [O III])/Hβ and N2 ≡ [N II] λ6583/Hα, particularly when applied to star-forming galaxies at high redshifts.

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