[CII] halos in ALPINE galaxies: smoking-gun of galactic outflows?

TL;DR

This study models and analyzes extended [CII] halos around high-redshift galaxies, suggesting they are caused by starburst-driven outflows, with implications for galaxy evolution and feedback mechanisms.

Contribution

The paper improves a semi-analytical model to explain [CII] halos as outflows and compares predictions with ALPINE data, revealing outflow properties and their dependence on galaxy mass.

Findings

[CII] halos are produced by starburst-driven outflows.

Outflow mass loading factors range from 4 to 7.

Outflow properties scale with stellar mass as η ∝ M_*^{-0.43}.

Abstract

ALMA observations have revealed that many high redshift galaxies are surrounded by extended (10-15 kpc) [CII]-emitting halos which are not predicted by even the most advanced zoom-in simulations. Using a semi-analytical model, in a previous work we suggested that such halos are produced by starburst-driven, catastrophically cooling outflows. Here, we further improve the model and compare its predictions with data from 7 star-forming ($10\lesssim \rm SFR/ M_\odot \rm yr^{-1}<100$) galaxies at z=4-6, observed in the ALPINE survey. We find that (a) detected [CII] halos are a natural by-product of starburst-driven outflows; (b) the outflow mass loading factors are in the range $4\lesssim\eta\lesssim 7$, with higher $\eta$ values for lower-mass, lower-SFR systems, and scale with stellar mass as $\eta \propto M_*^{-0.43}$, consistently with the momentum-driven hypothesis. Our model suggests that outflows are widespread phenomena in high-z galaxies. However, in low-mass systems the halo extended [CII] emission is likely too faint to be detected with the current levels of sensitivity.