The Systematic Properties of the Warm Phase of Starburst-Driven Galactic Winds

TL;DR

This study investigates the properties of warm ionized galactic winds driven by starbursts, revealing how outflow velocities and rates relate to galaxy properties and proposing a model based on cloud acceleration and momentum flux.

Contribution

It introduces a model of cloud acceleration by combined forces and identifies a critical momentum flux ratio that distinguishes strong from weak outflows, improving galaxy evolution simulations.

Findings

Outflow velocities weakly correlate with galaxy mass but strongly with SFR.

Outflow rates are 1-4 times the SFR, independent of outflow velocity.

A threshold ratio of momentum flux determines wind strength and escape velocity.

Abstract

Using ultra-violet absorption-lines, we analyze the systematic properties of the warm ionized phase of starburst-driven winds in a sample of 39 low-redshift objects that spans broad ranges in starburst and galaxy properties. Total column densities for the outflows are $\sim$10$^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$. The outflow velocity (v$_{out}$) correlates only weakly with the galaxy stellar mass (M$_*$), or circular velocity (v$_{cir}$), but strongly with both SFR and SFR/area. The normalized outflow velocity (v$_{out}/v_{cir}$) correlates well with both SFR/area and SFR/M$_*$. The estimated outflow rates of warm ionized gas ($\dot{M}$) are $\sim$ 1 to 4 times the SFR, and the ratio $\dot{M}/SFR$ does not correlate with v$_{out}$. We show that a model of a population of clouds accelerated by the combined forces of gravity and the momentum flux from the starburst matches the data. We find a threshold value for the ratio of the momentum flux supplied by the starburst to the critical momentum flux needed for the wind to overcome gravity acting on the clouds ($R_{crit}$). For $R_{crit} >$ 10 (strong-outflows) the outflow momentum flux is similar to the total momentum flux from the starburst and the outflow velocity exceeds the galaxy escape velocity. Neither is the case for the weak-outflows ($R_{crit} <$ 10). For the weak-outflows, the data severely disagree with many prescriptions in numerical simulations or semi-analytic models of galaxy evolution. The agreement is better for the strong-outflows, and we advocate the use of $R_{crit}$ to guide future prescriptions.