A JWST/MIRI View of the ISM in M83: I. Resolved Molecular Hydrogen Properties, Star Formation, and Feedback

TL;DR

This study uses JWST/MIRI spectroscopy to analyze warm molecular hydrogen in M83's starburst region, revealing its distribution, kinematics, and relation to star formation and feedback processes at high spatial resolution.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed, spatially-resolved analysis of warm H2 properties and their connection to star formation and feedback in M83 using JWST data.

Findings

Warm H2 gas is clumpy with a mass of ~2.3 x 10^5 Msun.

H2 properties are linked to star formation activity and stellar population ages.

Spectroscopy traces all stages of massive star cluster formation.

Abstract

We present a spatially-resolved (~3 pc pix$^{-1}$) analysis of the distribution, kinematics, and excitation of warm H2 gas in the nuclear starburst region of M83. Our JWST/MIRI IFU spectroscopy reveals a clumpy reservoir of warm H2 (> 200 K) with a mass of ~2.3 x 10$^{5}$ Msun in the area covered by all four MRS channels. We additionally use the [Ne II] 12.8 ${\mu}$m and [Ne III] 15.5 ${\mu}$m lines as tracers of the star formation rate, ionizing radiation hardness, and kinematics of the ionized ISM, finding tantalizing connections to the H2 properties and to the ages of the underlying stellar populations. Finally, qualitative comparisons to the trove of public, high-spatial-resolution multiwavelength data available on M83 shows that our MRS spectroscopy potentially traces all stages of the process of creating massive star clusters, from the embedded proto-cluster phase through the dispersion of ISM from stellar feedback.