Shining a Light on the Connections between Galactic Outflows Seen in Absorption and Emission Lines

TL;DR

This study compares UV absorption and optical emission line diagnostics of galactic outflows in 33 low-redshift starburst galaxies, revealing strong correlations and providing calibration between the two methods to better understand galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It establishes a quantitative connection between outflow properties derived from emission and absorption lines, improving interpretation of galactic feedback diagnostics.

Findings

Outflow velocities and line widths from emission are 60-70% of those from absorption.

Outflow rates from emission lines are 0.2-0.5 dex lower than from absorption.

Radial density decline and velocity increase explain the observed correlations.

Abstract

Galactic outflows provide important feedback effects to regulate the evolution of host galaxies. Two primary diagnostics of outflows are broad and/or blueshifted emission and absorption lines. Even though well-established methods exist to analyze these outflow signatures, connections between them are rarely studied and largely unknown. In this paper, we conduct such a study in a sample of 33 low-redshift starburst galaxies. Their UV absorption lines are detected by Hubble Space Telescope, and optical emission lines are observed by Keck or Very Large Telescope. We find outflow properties derived from emission and absorption lines are tightly correlated. These include outflow maximum velocity, line width, and radial extent. On average, in the same galaxy, the maximum velocity and line width of outflows measured from emission lines reach only 60 -- 70% of those from the absorption lines. We also find outflow rates derived from emission lines are consistently lower than those from absorption lines by 0.2 -- 0.5 dex. These findings can be explained by a radial decline in density and a corresponding increase in outflow velocity, combined with the fact that emission line luminosity scales with the square of the density while absorption line depth scales linearly. We test both spherical and bi-conical outflow models, and find the same radial outflow velocity and density distributions can explain the observed correlations. These results provide novel calibration between galactic outflow properties measured from the two diagnostics and underscore the need for high-fidelity UV and optical spectra to accurately assess galactic feedback effects in high-z galaxies.