Radioactive and kinematic tracers of feedback from massive stars

TL;DR

This paper models the ejection of radioactive isotopes and feedback from massive stars to understand their role in star formation and galaxy evolution, using population synthesis and applying it to Orion and Carina regions.

Contribution

It introduces a population synthesis code that simultaneously models radioactive isotope ejection, kinetic energy, and UV radiation from massive stars, applied to real star-forming regions.

Findings

Good agreement with observational data for Orion and Carina regions.

Demonstrates the utility of $^{26}$Al as a tracer of stellar feedback.

Provides insights into the timing and impact of massive star feedback processes.

Abstract

The mixing of ejecta from young stars into the interstellar medium is an important process in the interplay between star formation and galaxy evolution. A unique window into these processes is provided by the radioactive isotopes $^{26}$Al, traced by its $\gamma$-ray decay lines at 1.8 MeV. With a mean lifetime of $\sim$1 Myr it is a long-term tracer of nucleosynthesis for massive stars. Our population synthesis code models the ejection of $^{26}$Al, together with the $^{60}$Fe, the kinetic energy and UV radiation for a population of massive stars. We have applied the code to study the nearby Orion region and the more massive Carina region and found good agreement with observational constraints.