English

Galactic winds and bubbles from nuclear starburst rings

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2022-08-22 v2

Abstract

Galactic outflows from local starburst galaxies typically exhibit a layered geometry, with cool 10410^4\,K flow sheathing a hotter 10710^7\,K, cylindrically-collimated, X-ray emitting plasma. Here, we argue that winds driven by energy-injection in a ring-like geometry can produce this distinctive large-scale multi-phase morphology. The ring configuration is motivated by the observation that massive young star clusters are often distributed in a ring at the host galaxy's inner Lindblad resonance, where larger-scale spiral arm structure terminates. We present parameterized three-dimensional radiative hydrodynamical simulations that follow the emergence and dynamics of energy-driven hot winds from starburst rings. In this Letter, we show that the flow shocks on itself within the inner ring hole, maintaining high 10710^7\,K temperatures, whilst flows that emerge from the wind-driving ring unobstructed can undergo rapid bulk cooling down to 10410^4\,K, producing a fast hot bi-conical outflow enclosed by a sheath of cooler nearly co-moving material without ram-pressure acceleration. The hot flow is collimated along the ring axis, even in the absence of pressure confinement from a galactic disk or magnetic fields. In the early stages of expansion, the emerging wind forms a bubble-like shape reminiscent of the Milky Way's eROSITA and Fermi bubbles and can reach velocities usually associated with AGN-driven winds. We discuss the physics of the ring configuration, the conditions for radiative bulk cooling, and the implications for future X-ray observations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2205.13465,
  title  = {Galactic winds and bubbles from nuclear starburst rings},
  author = {Dustin D. Nguyen and Todd A. Thompson},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.13465},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

19 pages, 8 figures, submitted (may 25, 2022), accepted ApJL (aug 03, 2022)

R2 v1 2026-06-24T11:29:49.446Z