The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3.
High-velocity galactic outflows, driven by intense bursts of star formation and black hole accretion, are processes invoked by current theories of galaxy formation to terminate star formation in the most massive galaxies and to deposit heavy elements in the intergalactic medium. From existing observ...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2005
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| _version_ | 1826290019497672704 |
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| author | Wilman, R Gerssen, J Bower, R Morris, S Bacon, R de Zeeuw, P Davies, R |
| author_facet | Wilman, R Gerssen, J Bower, R Morris, S Bacon, R de Zeeuw, P Davies, R |
| author_sort | Wilman, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | High-velocity galactic outflows, driven by intense bursts of star formation and black hole accretion, are processes invoked by current theories of galaxy formation to terminate star formation in the most massive galaxies and to deposit heavy elements in the intergalactic medium. From existing observational evidence (for high-redshift galaxies) it is unclear whether such outflows are localized to regions of intense star formation just a few kiloparsecs in extent, or whether they instead have a significant impact on the entire galaxy and its surroundings. Here we present two-dimensional spectroscopy of a star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 3.09 (seen 11.5 gigayears ago, when the Universe was 20 per cent of its current age): its spatially extended Lyalpha line emission appears to be absorbed by H i in a foreground screen covering the entire galaxy, with a lateral extent of at least 100 kpc and remarkable velocity coherence. This screen was ejected from the galaxy during a starburst several 10(8) years earlier and has subsequently swept up gas from the surrounding intergalactic medium and cooled. This demonstrates the galaxy-wide impact of high-redshift superwinds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:37:47Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:a95db058-6e54-47ed-9973-9611e91f0369 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T02:37:47Z |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:a95db058-6e54-47ed-9973-9611e91f03692022-03-27T03:08:05ZThe discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a95db058-6e54-47ed-9973-9611e91f0369EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2005Wilman, RGerssen, JBower, RMorris, SBacon, Rde Zeeuw, PDavies, RHigh-velocity galactic outflows, driven by intense bursts of star formation and black hole accretion, are processes invoked by current theories of galaxy formation to terminate star formation in the most massive galaxies and to deposit heavy elements in the intergalactic medium. From existing observational evidence (for high-redshift galaxies) it is unclear whether such outflows are localized to regions of intense star formation just a few kiloparsecs in extent, or whether they instead have a significant impact on the entire galaxy and its surroundings. Here we present two-dimensional spectroscopy of a star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 3.09 (seen 11.5 gigayears ago, when the Universe was 20 per cent of its current age): its spatially extended Lyalpha line emission appears to be absorbed by H i in a foreground screen covering the entire galaxy, with a lateral extent of at least 100 kpc and remarkable velocity coherence. This screen was ejected from the galaxy during a starburst several 10(8) years earlier and has subsequently swept up gas from the surrounding intergalactic medium and cooled. This demonstrates the galaxy-wide impact of high-redshift superwinds. |
| spellingShingle | Wilman, R Gerssen, J Bower, R Morris, S Bacon, R de Zeeuw, P Davies, R The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title | The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title_full | The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title_fullStr | The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title_short | The discovery of a galaxy-wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3. |
| title_sort | discovery of a galaxy wide superwind from a young massive galaxy at redshift z approximately 3 |
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