Cosmic Rays in Galaxy Halos: Impacts on Galactic Outflows and Baryon Cycling

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Hauptverfasser: Owen, Ellis R., Romano, Leonard E. C., Nagamine, Kentaro
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Owen, Ellis R.
Romano, Leonard E. C.
Nagamine, Kentaro
author_facet Owen, Ellis R.
Romano, Leonard E. C.
Nagamine, Kentaro
contents Galaxies with high star-formation rate surface densities often host large-scale outflows that redistribute energy, momentum, and baryons between the interstellar medium and the halo, making them a key feedback channel regulating galaxy evolution. Despite their importance, the driving physics behind galactic outflows and their interaction with the surrounding halo is yet to be fully understood. In particular, the influence of a pre-existing reservoir of cosmic rays (CRs) in galaxy halos has not been clearly established. We determine the conditions required to launch outflows in the presence of halo CRs and investigate how CR pressure gradients modify outflow speeds. We find that CR halos suppress the development of large-scale, CR-driven winds and redirect CR feedback toward local recycling flows. Slow outflows are therefore more likely in young galaxies lacking extended CR halos, while fast winds in intense starbursts are dominated by momentum injection and largely unaffected by halo CRs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_16524
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cosmic Rays in Galaxy Halos: Impacts on Galactic Outflows and Baryon Cycling
Owen, Ellis R.
Romano, Leonard E. C.
Nagamine, Kentaro
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Galaxies with high star-formation rate surface densities often host large-scale outflows that redistribute energy, momentum, and baryons between the interstellar medium and the halo, making them a key feedback channel regulating galaxy evolution. Despite their importance, the driving physics behind galactic outflows and their interaction with the surrounding halo is yet to be fully understood. In particular, the influence of a pre-existing reservoir of cosmic rays (CRs) in galaxy halos has not been clearly established. We determine the conditions required to launch outflows in the presence of halo CRs and investigate how CR pressure gradients modify outflow speeds. We find that CR halos suppress the development of large-scale, CR-driven winds and redirect CR feedback toward local recycling flows. Slow outflows are therefore more likely in young galaxies lacking extended CR halos, while fast winds in intense starbursts are dominated by momentum injection and largely unaffected by halo CRs.
title Cosmic Rays in Galaxy Halos: Impacts on Galactic Outflows and Baryon Cycling
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.16524