JWST Reveals Widespread AGN-Driven Neutral Gas Outflows in Massive z ~ 2 Galaxies

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Davies, Rebecca L., Belli, Sirio, Park, Minjung, Mendel, J. Trevor, Johnson, Benjamin D., Conroy, Charlie, Benton, Chloë, Bugiani, Letizia, Emami, Razieh, Leja, Joel, Li, Yijia, Maheson, Gabriel, Mathews, Elijah P., Naidu, Rohan P., Nelson, Erica J., Tacchella, Sandro, Terrazas, Bryan A., Weinberger, Rainer
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Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Davies, Rebecca L.
Belli, Sirio
Park, Minjung
Mendel, J. Trevor
Johnson, Benjamin D.
Conroy, Charlie
Benton, Chloë
Bugiani, Letizia
Emami, Razieh
Leja, Joel
Li, Yijia
Maheson, Gabriel
Mathews, Elijah P.
Naidu, Rohan P.
Nelson, Erica J.
Tacchella, Sandro
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Weinberger, Rainer
author_facet Davies, Rebecca L.
Belli, Sirio
Park, Minjung
Mendel, J. Trevor
Johnson, Benjamin D.
Conroy, Charlie
Benton, Chloë
Bugiani, Letizia
Emami, Razieh
Leja, Joel
Li, Yijia
Maheson, Gabriel
Mathews, Elijah P.
Naidu, Rohan P.
Nelson, Erica J.
Tacchella, Sandro
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Weinberger, Rainer
contents We use deep JWST/NIRSpec R~1000 slit spectra of 113 galaxies at 1.7 < z < 3.5, selected from the mass-complete Blue Jay survey, to investigate the prevalence and typical properties of neutral gas outflows at cosmic noon. We detect excess Na I D absorption (beyond the stellar contribution) in 46% of massive galaxies ($\log$ M$_*$/M$_\odot >$ 10), with similar incidence rates in star-forming and quenching systems. Half of the absorption profiles are blueshifted by at least 100 km/s, providing unambiguous evidence for neutral gas outflows. Galaxies with strong Na I D absorption are distinguished by enhanced emission line ratios consistent with AGN ionization. We conservatively measure mass outflow rates of 3 - 100 $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$; comparable to or exceeding ionized gas outflow rates measured for galaxies at similar stellar mass and redshift. The outflows from the quenching systems (log(sSFR)[yr$^{-1}$] $\lesssim$ -10) have mass loading factors of 4 - 360, and the energy and momentum outflow rates exceed the expected injection rates from supernova explosions, suggesting that these galaxies could possibly be caught in a rapid blowout phase powered by the AGN. Our findings suggest that AGN-driven ejection of cold gas may be a dominant mechanism for fast quenching of star formation at z~2.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_17939
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle JWST Reveals Widespread AGN-Driven Neutral Gas Outflows in Massive z ~ 2 Galaxies
Davies, Rebecca L.
Belli, Sirio
Park, Minjung
Mendel, J. Trevor
Johnson, Benjamin D.
Conroy, Charlie
Benton, Chloë
Bugiani, Letizia
Emami, Razieh
Leja, Joel
Li, Yijia
Maheson, Gabriel
Mathews, Elijah P.
Naidu, Rohan P.
Nelson, Erica J.
Tacchella, Sandro
Terrazas, Bryan A.
Weinberger, Rainer
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We use deep JWST/NIRSpec R~1000 slit spectra of 113 galaxies at 1.7 < z < 3.5, selected from the mass-complete Blue Jay survey, to investigate the prevalence and typical properties of neutral gas outflows at cosmic noon. We detect excess Na I D absorption (beyond the stellar contribution) in 46% of massive galaxies ($\log$ M$_*$/M$_\odot >$ 10), with similar incidence rates in star-forming and quenching systems. Half of the absorption profiles are blueshifted by at least 100 km/s, providing unambiguous evidence for neutral gas outflows. Galaxies with strong Na I D absorption are distinguished by enhanced emission line ratios consistent with AGN ionization. We conservatively measure mass outflow rates of 3 - 100 $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$; comparable to or exceeding ionized gas outflow rates measured for galaxies at similar stellar mass and redshift. The outflows from the quenching systems (log(sSFR)[yr$^{-1}$] $\lesssim$ -10) have mass loading factors of 4 - 360, and the energy and momentum outflow rates exceed the expected injection rates from supernova explosions, suggesting that these galaxies could possibly be caught in a rapid blowout phase powered by the AGN. Our findings suggest that AGN-driven ejection of cold gas may be a dominant mechanism for fast quenching of star formation at z~2.
title JWST Reveals Widespread AGN-Driven Neutral Gas Outflows in Massive z ~ 2 Galaxies
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.17939