Galactic Winds Research Articles

Stellar feedback in dwarf irregular galaxies with radio continuum observations

AbstractLow-mass dwarf irregular galaxies are subject to outflows, in which cosmic rays may play a very important role; they can be traced via their electron component, the cosmic ray electrons (CRe), in the radio continuum as non-thermal synchrotron emission. With the advent of sensitive low-frequency observations, such as with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), we can trace CRe far away from star formation sites. Together with GHz-observations, such as with the Very Large Array (VLA), we can study spatially resolved radio continuum spectra at matched angular resolution and sensitivity. Here, we present results from our 6-GHz VLA survey of 40 nearby dwarf galaxies and our LOFAR study of the nearby starburst dwarf irregular galaxy IC 10. We explore the relation of RC emission with star formation tracers and study in IC 10 the nature of a low-frequency radio halo, which we find to be the result of a galactic wind.

Discrete Effects in Stellar Feedback: Individual Supernovae, Hypernovae, and IMF Sampling in Dwarf Galaxies

Using high-resolution simulations from the FIRE-2 (Feedback In Realistic Environments) project, we study the effects of discreteness in stellar feedback processes on the evolution of galaxies and the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM). We specifically consider the discretization of supernovae (SNe), including hypernovae (HNe), and sampling the initial mass function (IMF). We study these processes in cosmological simulations of dwarf galaxies with z = 0 stellar masses M * ~ 104-3 × 106 M⊙ (halo masses ~109-1010 M⊙). We show that the discrete nature of individual SNe (as opposed to a model in which their energy/momentum deposition is continuous overtime, similar to stellar winds) is crucial in generating a reasonable ISM structure and galactic winds and in regulating dwarf stellar masses. However, once SNe are discretized, accounting for the effects of IMF sampling on continuous mechanisms such as radiative feedback and stellar mass-loss (as opposed to adopting IMF-averaged rates) has weak effects on galaxy-scale properties. We also consider the effects of rare HNe events with energies ~1053 erg. The effects of HNe are similar to the effects of clustered explosions of SNe - which are already captured in our default simulation setup - and do not quench star formation (provided that the HNe do not dominate the total SNe energy budget), which suggests that HNe yield products should be observable in ultra-faint dwarfs today.

Comparison of the Extraplanar Hα and UV Emissions in the Halos of Nearby Edge-on Spiral Galaxies

Abstract We compare vertical profiles of the extraplanar Hα emission to those of the UV emission for 38 nearby edge-on late-type galaxies. It is found that detection of the “diffuse” extraplanar dust (eDust), traced by the vertically extended, scattered UV starlight, always coincides with the presence of the extraplanar Hα emission. A strong correlation between the scale heights of the extraplanar Hα and UV emissions is also found; the scale height at Hα is found to be ∼0.74 of the scale height at FUV. Our results may indicate the multiphase nature of the diffuse ionized gas and dust in the galactic halos. The existence of eDust in galaxies where the extraplanar Hα emission is detected suggests that a larger portion of the extraplanar Hα emission than that predicted in previous studies may be caused by Hα photons that originate from H ii regions in the galactic plane and are subsequently scattered by the eDust. This possibility raise an advantage in studying the extraplanar diffuse ionized gas. We also find that the scale heights of the extraplanar emissions normalized to the galaxy size correlate well with the star formation rate surface density of the galaxies. The properties of eDust in our galaxies is on a continuation line of that found through previous observations of the extraplanar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emission in more active galaxies known to have galactic winds.

Diagnostics of Ionized Gas in Galaxies with the “BPT–Radial Velocity Dispersion” Relation

In order to study the state of gas in galaxies, diagrams of the relation of optical emission line fluxes are used allowing one to separate main ionization sources: young stars in the H II regions, active galactic nuclei, and shock waves. In the intermediate cases, when the contributions of radiation from OB stars and from shock waves mix, identification becomes uncertain, and the issue remains unresolved on what determines the observed state of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) including the one on large distances from the galactic plane. Adding of an extra parameter - the gas line-of-sight velocity dispersion - to classical diagnostic diagrams helps to find a solution. In the present paper, we analyze the observed data for several nearby galaxies: for UGC 10043 with the galactic wind, for the star forming dwarf galaxies VII Zw 403 and Mrk 35, for the galaxy Arp 212 with a polar ring. The data on the velocity dispersion are obtained at the 6-m SAO RAS telescope with the Fabry-Perot scanning interferometer, the information on the relation of main emission-line fluxes - from the published results of the integral-field spectroscopy (the CALIFA survey and the MPFS spectrograph). A positive correlation between the radial velocity dispersion and the contribution of shock excitation to gas ionization are observed. In particular, in studying Arp 212, "BPT-sigma relation" allowed us to confirm the assumption on a direct collision of gaseous clouds on the inclined orbits with the main disk of the galaxy.

Modeling of Galactic Wind Formation from Supernovae Using High-Performance Computations

Fundamental processes in the dynamics of the interstellar medium, namely, galactic wind, i.e., ejections of interstellar matter from central regions of galaxies, which are presumably caused by the formation of supernovae, are mathematically modeled in detail on high-performance parallel computer systems. The mathematical simulation is based on a kinetically consistent gasdynamic approach developed for such class of problems in astrophysics. A kinetically consistent algorithm is well adapted to the architecture of high-performance computer systems with massive parallelism, so that complex large-scale astrophysical phenomena can be efficiently studied with a high resolution. The approach, method, and algorithms are described, and numerical results are presented.

Introducing CGOLS: The Cholla Galactic Outflow Simulation Suite

Abstract We present the Cholla Galactic OutfLow Simulations (CGOLS) suite, a set of extremely high resolution global simulations of isolated disk galaxies designed to clarify the nature of multiphase structure in galactic winds. Using the GPU-based code Cholla, we achieve unprecedented resolution in these simulations, modeling galaxies over a 20 kpc region at a constant resolution of 5 pc. The simulations include a feedback model designed to test the effects of different mass- and energy-loading factors on galactic outflows over kiloparsec scales. In addition to describing the simulation methodology in detail, we also present the results from an adiabatic simulation that tests the frequently adopted analytic galactic wind model of Chevalier & Clegg. Our results indicate that the Chevalier & Clegg model is a good fit to nuclear starburst winds in the nonradiative region of parameter space. Finally, we investigate the role of resolution and convergence in large-scale simulations of multiphase galactic winds. While our largest-scale simulations show convergence of observable features like soft X-ray emission, our tests demonstrate that simulations of this kind with resolutions greater than 10 pc are not yet converged, confirming the need for extreme resolution in order to study the structure of winds and their effects on the circumgalactic medium.

The Parker Instability with Cosmic-Ray Streaming

Abstract Recent studies have found that cosmic-ray transport plays an important role in feedback processes such as star formation and the launching of galactic winds. Although cosmic-ray buoyancy is widely held to be a destabilizing force in galactic disks, the effect of cosmic-ray transport on the stability of stratified systems has yet to be analyzed. We perform a stability analysis of a stratified layer for three different cosmic-ray transport models: decoupled (Classic Parker), coupled with γ c = 4/3 but not streaming (Modified Parker), and finally coupled with streaming at the Alfvén speed. When the compressibility of the cosmic rays is decreased the system becomes much more stable, but the addition of cosmic-ray streaming to the Parker instability severely destabilizes it. Through comparison of these three cases and analysis of the work contributions for the perturbed quantities of each system, we demonstrate that cosmic-ray heating of the gas is responsible for the destabilization of the system. We find that a 3D system is unstable over a larger range of wavelengths than the 2D system. Therefore, the Parker instability with cosmic-ray streaming may play an important role in cosmic-ray feedback.

ALMA observations of a metal-rich damped Ly α absorber at z = 2.5832: evidence for strong galactic winds in a galaxy group

We report on the results of a search for CO(3-2) emission from the galaxy counterpart of a high-metallicity Damped Ly-alpha Absorber (DLA) at z=2.5832 towards the quasar Q0918+1636. We do not detect CO emission from the previously identified DLA galaxy counterpart. The limit we infer on M_gas / M_star is in the low end of the range found for DLA galaxies, but is still consistent with what is found for other star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. Instead we detect CO(3-2) emission from another intensely star-forming galaxy at an impact parameter of 117 kpc from the line-of-sight to the quasar and 131 km s^-1 redshifted relative to the velocity centroid of the DLA in the quasar spectrum. In the velocity profile of the low- and high-ionisation absorption lines of the DLA there is an absorption component consistent with the redshift of this CO-emitting galaxy. It is plausible that this component is physically associated with a strong outflow in the plane of the sky from the CO-emitting galaxy. If true, this would be further evidence, in addition to what is already known from studies of Lyman-break galaxies, that galactic outflows can be traced beyond 100 kpc from star-forming galaxies. The case of this z=2.583 structure is an illustration of this in a group environment.

The Propagation of Cosmic Rays from the Galactic Wind Termination Shock: Back to the Galaxy?

Abstract Although several theories exist for the origin of cosmic rays (CRs) in the region between the spectral “knee” and “ankle,” this problem is still unsolved. A variety of observations suggest that the transition from Galactic to extragalactic sources occurs in this energy range. In this work, we examine whether a Galactic wind that eventually forms a termination shock far outside the Galactic plane can contribute as a possible source to the observed flux in the region of interest. Previous work by Bustard et al. estimated that particles can be accelerated to energies above the “knee” up to R max = 1016 eV for parameters drawn from a model of a Milky Way wind. A remaining question is whether the accelerated CRs can propagate back into the Galaxy. To answer this crucial question, we simulate the propagation of the CRs using the low-energy extension of the CRPropa framework, based on the solution of the transport equation via stochastic differential equations. The setup includes all relevant processes, including three-dimensional anisotropic spatial diffusion, advection, and corresponding adiabatic cooling. We find that, assuming realistic parameters for the shock evolution, a possible Galactic termination shock can contribute significantly to the energy budget in the “knee” region and above. We estimate the resulting produced neutrino fluxes and find them to be below measurements from IceCube and limits by KM3NeT.

Radiative cooling of swept-up gas in AGN-driven galactic winds and its implications for molecular outflows

We recently used hydro-chemical simulations to demonstrate that molecular outflows observed in luminous quasars can be explained by molecule formation within the AGN wind. However, these simulations cover a limited parameter space, due to their computational cost. We have therefore developed an analytic model to follow cooling in the shocked ISM layer of an AGN wind. We explore different ambient densities ($1-10^{4} \, \rm{cm}^{-3}$), density profile slopes ($0-1.5$), AGN luminosities ($10^{44}-10^{47} \, \rm{erg} \, \rm{s}^{-1}$), and metallicities ($0.1-3 \rm{Z}_{\odot}$). The swept up gas mostly cools within ~1 Myr. Based on our previous simulations, we predict that this gas would produce observable molecular outflows. The instantaneous momentum boost initially increases as the outflow decelerates. However, it reaches a maximum of $\approx$20, due to work done against the gravitational potential. The predicted time-averaged observational estimate of the molecular outflow momentum boost reaches a maximum of $\approx1-2$, partly due to our assumed molecular fraction, 0.2, but also because the instantaneous and observational, time-averaged definitions are not equivalent. Thus recent observational estimates of order unity momentum boosts do not necessarily rule out energy-driven outflows. Finally, we find that dust grains are likely to re-form by accretion of metals after the shocked ISM layer has cooled, assuming that a small fraction of dust grains swept up after this layer has cooled are able to mix into the cool phase, and assuming that grain growth remains efficient in the presence of the strong AGN radiation field. This would enable rapid molecule formation, as assumed in our models.

Modelling of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies and ionized bubbles at the epoch of reionization

Understanding Ly$\alpha$ emitting galaxies (LAEs) can be a key to reveal cosmic reionization and galaxy formation in the early Universe. Based on halo merger trees and Ly$\alpha$ radiation transfer calculations, we model redshift evolution of LAEs and their observational properties at $z \ge 6$. We consider ionized bubbles associated with individual LAEs and IGM transmission of Ly$\alpha$ photons. We find that Ly$\alpha$ luminosity tightly correlates with halo mass and stellar mass, while the relation with star formation rate has a large dispersion. Comparing our models with the observed luminosity function by Konno et al., we suggest that LAEs at $z \sim 7$ have galactic wind of $V_{\rm out} \gtrsim 100~\rm km\, s^{-1}$ and HI column density of $N_{\rm HI} \gtrsim 10^{20}~\rm cm^{-2}$. Number density of bright LAEs rapidly decreases as redshift increases, due to both lower star formation rate and smaller HII bubbles. Our model predicts future wide deep surveys with next generation telescopes, such as JWST, E-ELT and TMT, can detect LAEs at $z \sim 10$ with a number density of $n_{\rm LAE} \sim {\rm a~few~} \times10^{-6} ~\rm Mpc^{-3}$ for the flux sensitivity of $10^{-18} ~\rm erg\, cm^{-2}\, s^{-1}$. By combining these surveys with future 21-cm observations, it could be possible to detect both LAEs with $L_{Ly\alpha} \gtrsim 10^{42}~\rm erg~s^{-1}$ and their associated giant HII bubbles with the size $\gtrsim 250 ~\rm kpc$ at $z \sim 10$.

Radiation pressure in galactic discs: stability, turbulence, and winds in the single-scattering limit

The radiation force on dust grains may be dynamically important in driving turbulence and outflows in rapidly star-forming galaxies. Recent studies focus on the highly optically-thick limit relevant to the densest ultra-luminous galaxies and super star clusters, where reprocessed infrared photons provide the dominant source of electromagnetic momentum. However, even among starburst galaxies, the great majority instead lie in the so-called "single-scattering" limit, where the system is optically-thick to the incident starlight, but optically-thin to the re-radiated infrared. In this paper we present a stability analysis and multidimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations exploring the stability and dynamics of isothermal dusty gas columns in this regime. We describe our algorithm for full angle-dependent radiation transport based on the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. For a range of near-Eddington fluxes, we show that the medium is unstable, producing convective-like motions in a turbulent atmosphere with a scale height significantly inflated compared to the gas pressure scale height and mass-weighted turbulent energy densities of $\sim 0.01-0.1$ of the midplane radiation energy density, corresponding to mass-weighted velocity dispersions of Mach number $\sim 0.5-2$. Extrapolation of our results to optical depths of $10^3$ implies maximum turbulent Mach numbers of $\sim20$. Comparing our results to galaxy-averaged observations, and subject to the approximations of our calculations, we find that radiation pressure does not contribute significantly to the effective supersonic pressure support in star-forming disks, which in general are substantially sub-Eddington. We further examine the time-averaged vertical density profiles in dynamical equilibrium and comment on implications for radiation-pressure-driven galactic winds.

Enhanced dust emissivity power-law index along the western H α filament of NGC 1569

We used a data set from AKARI and Herschel images at wavelengths from 7 $\mu$m to 500 $\mu$m to catch the evidence of dust processing in galactic winds in NGC 1569. Images show a diffuse infrared (IR) emission extending from the galactic disk into the halo region. The most prominent filamentary structure seen in the diffuse IR emission is spatially in good agreement with the western H$\alpha$ filament (western arm). The spatial distribution of the $F_\mathrm{350}/F_\mathrm{500}$ map shows high values in regions around the super-star clusters (SSCs) and towards the western arm, which are not found in the $F_\mathrm{250}/F_\mathrm{350}$ map. The color-color diagram of $F_\mathrm{250}/F_\mathrm{350}$-$F_\mathrm{350}/F_\mathrm{500}$ indicates high values of the emissivity power-law index ($\beta_\mathrm{c}$) of the cold dust component in those regions. From a spectral decomposition analysis on a pixel-by-pixel basis, a $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ map shows values ranging from $\sim1$ to $\sim2$ over the whole galaxy. In particular, high $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ values of $\sim2$ are only observed in the regions indicated by the color-color diagram. Since the average cold dust temperature in NGC 1569 is $\sim30$ K, $\beta_\mathrm{c}<2.0$ in the far-IR and sub-mm region theoretically suggests emission from amorphous grains, while $\beta_\mathrm{c}=2.0$ suggests that from crystal grains. Given that the enhanced $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ regions are spatially confined by the HI ridge that is considered to be a birthplace of the SSCs, the spatial coincidences may indicate that dust grains around the SSCs are grains of relatively high crystallinity injected by massive stars originating from starburst activities and that those grains are blown away along the HI ridge and thus the western arm.

Impact of Cosmic-Ray Transport on Galactic Winds

Abstract The role of cosmic rays generated by supernovae and young stars has very recently begun to receive significant attention in studies of galaxy formation and evolution due to the realization that cosmic rays can efficiently accelerate galactic winds. Microscopic cosmic-ray transport processes are fundamental for determining the efficiency of cosmic-ray wind driving. Previous studies modeled cosmic-ray transport either via a constant diffusion coefficient or via streaming proportional to the Alfvén speed. However, in predominantly cold, neutral gas, cosmic rays can propagate faster than in the ionized medium, and the effective transport can be substantially larger; i.e., cosmic rays can decouple from the gas. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of patches of galactic disks including the effects of cosmic rays. Our simulations include the decoupling of cosmic rays in the cold, neutral interstellar medium. We find that, compared to the ordinary diffusive cosmic-ray transport case, accounting for the decoupling leads to significantly different wind properties, such as the gas density and temperature, significantly broader spatial distribution of cosmic rays, and higher wind speed. These results have implications for X-ray, γ-ray, and radio emission, and for the magnetization and pollution of the circumgalactic medium by cosmic rays.

Exploring the dust content of galactic winds with Herschel – II. Nearby dwarf galaxies

We present the results from an analysis of deep Herschel Space Observatory observations of six nearby dwarf galaxies known to host galactic-scale winds. The superior far-infrared sensitivity and angular resolution of Herschel have allowed detection of cold circumgalactic dust features beyond the stellar components of the host galaxies traced by Spitzer 4.5 $\mu$m images. Comparisons of these cold dust features with ancillary data reveal an imperfect spatial correlation with the ionized gas and warm dust wind components. We find that typically $\sim$10-20\% of the total dust mass in these galaxies resides outside of their stellar disks, but this fraction reaches $\sim$60\% in the case of NGC 1569. This galaxy also has the largest metallicity (O/H) deficit in our sample for its stellar mass. Overall, the small number of objects in our sample precludes drawing strong conclusions on the origin of the circumgalactic dust. We detect no statistically significant trends with star formation properties of the host galaxies, as might be expected if the dust were lifted above the disk by energy inputs from on-going star formation activity. Although a case for dust entrained in a galactic wind is seen in NGC 1569, in all cases, we cannot rule out the possibility that some of the circumgalactic dust might be associated instead with gas accreted or removed from the disk by recent galaxy interaction events, or that it is part of the outer gas-rich portion of the disk that lies below the sensitivity limit of the Spitzer 4.5 $\mu$m data.

CHANG-ES

Aim.The vertical halo scale height is a crucial parameter to understand the transport of cosmic-ray electrons (CRE) and their energy loss mechanisms in spiral galaxies. Until now, the radio scale height could only be determined for a few edge-on galaxies because of missing sensitivity at high resolution.Methods.We developed a sophisticated method for the scale height determination of edge-on galaxies. With this we determined the scale heights and radial scale lengths for a sample of 13 galaxies from the CHANG-ES radio continuum survey in two frequency bands.Results.The sample average values for the radio scale heights of the halo are 1.1 ± 0.3 kpc inC-band and 1.4 ± 0.7 kpc inL-band. From the frequency dependence analysis of the halo scale heights we found that the wind velocities (estimated using the adiabatic loss time) are above the escape velocity. We found that the halo scale heights increase linearly with the radio diameters. In order to exclude the diameter dependence, we defined a normalized scale heighth˜which is quite similar for all sample galaxies at both frequency bands and does not depend on the star formation rate or the magnetic field strength. However,h˜shows a tight anticorrelation with the mass surface density.Conclusions.The sample galaxies with smaller scale lengths are more spherical in the radio emission, while those with larger scale lengths are flatter. The radio scale height depends mainly on the radio diameter of the galaxy. The sample galaxies are consistent with an escape-dominated radio halo with convective cosmic ray propagation, indicating that galactic winds are a widespread phenomenon in spiral galaxies. While a higher star formation rate or star formation surface density does not lead to a higher wind velocity, we found for the first time observational evidence of a gravitational deceleration of CRE outflow, e.g. a lowering of the wind velocity from the galactic disk.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission Toward the Galactic Bulge

Abstract We examine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), dust, and atomic/molecular emission toward the Galactic bulge using Spitzer Space Telescope observations of four fields: C32, C35, OGLE, and NGC 6522. These fields are approximately centered on (l, b) = (0.°0, 1.°0), (0.°0, −1.°0), (0.°4, −2.°4), and (1.°0, −3.°8), respectively. Far-infrared photometric observations complement the Spitzer/IRS spectroscopic data and are used to construct spectral energy distributions. We find that the dust and PAH emission are exceptionally similar between C32 and C35 overall, in part explained due to their locations—they reside on or near boundaries of a 7 Myr old Galactic outflow event and are partly shock-heated. Within the C32 and C35 fields, we identify a region of elevated Hα emission that is coincident with elevated fine-structure and [O iv] line emission and weak PAH feature strengths. We are likely tracing a transition zone of the outflow into the nascent environment. PAH abundances in these fields are slightly depressed relative to typical ISM values. In the OGLE and NGC 6522 fields, we observe weak features on a continuum dominated by zodiacal dust. SED fitting indicates that thermal dust grains in C32 and C35 have temperatures comparable to those of diffuse, high-latitude cirrus clouds. Little variability is detected in the PAH properties between C32 and C35, indicating that a stable population of PAHs dominates the overall spectral appearance. In fact, their PAH features are exceptionally similar to that of the M82 superwind, emphasizing that we are probing a local Galactic wind environment.

The Spread of Metals into the Low-redshift Intergalactic Medium

Abstract We investigate the association between galaxies and metal-enriched and metal-deficient absorbers in the local universe (z &lt; 0.16) using a large compilation of far-ultraviolet spectra of bright active galactic nuclei targets observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. In this homogeneous sample of 18 O vi detections at and 18 nondetections at using absorbers with , the maximum distance O vi extends from galaxies of various luminosities is ∼0.6 Mpc, or ∼5 virial radii, confirming and refining earlier results. This is an important value that must be matched by numerical simulations, which input the strength of galactic winds at the sub-grid level. We present evidence that the primary contributors to the spread of metals into the circum- and intergalactic media are sub-L* galaxies ( ). The maximum distances that metals are transported from these galaxies is comparable to, or less than, the size of a group of galaxies. These results suggest that, where groups are present, the metals produced by the group galaxies do not leave the group. Since many O vi nondetections in our sample occur at comparably close impact parameters as those of the metal-bearing absorbers, some more pristine intergalactic material appears to be accreting onto groups where it can mix with metal-bearing clouds.

Galactic Disk Winds Driven by Cosmic Ray Pressure

Abstract Cosmic ray pressure gradients transfer energy and momentum to extraplanar gas in disk galaxies, potentially driving significant mass loss as galactic winds. This may be particularly important for launching high-velocity outflows of “cool” (T ≲ 104 K) gas. We study cosmic ray-driven disk winds using a simplified semi-analytic model assuming streamlines follow the large-scale gravitational potential gradient. We consider scaled Milky Way–like potentials including a disk, bulge, and halo with a range of halo velocities V H = 50–300 and streamline footpoints with radii in the disk R 0 = 1–16 kpc at a height of 1 kpc. Our solutions cover a wide range of footpoint gas velocity u 0, magnetic–to–cosmic ray pressure ratio, gas–to–cosmic ray pressure ratio, and angular momentum. Cosmic ray streaming at the Alfvén speed enables the effective sound speed C eff to increase from the footpoint to a critical point where C eff,c = u c ∼ V H; this differs from thermal winds, in which C eff decreases outward. The critical point is typically at a height of 1–6 kpc from the disk, increasing with V H, and the asymptotic wind velocity exceeds the escape speed of the halo. Mass-loss rates are insensitive to the footpoint values of the magnetic field and angular momentum. In addition to numerical parameter space exploration, we develop and compare to analytic scaling relations. We show that winds have mass-loss rates per unit area up to , where Π0 is the footpoint cosmic ray pressure and u 0 is set by the upwelling of galactic fountains. The predicted wind mass-loss rate exceeds the star formation rate for V H ≲ 200 and u 0 = 50 , a typical fountain velocity.

The Effects of Ram Pressure on the Cold Clouds in the Centers of Galaxy Clusters

Abstract We discuss the effect of ram pressure on the cold clouds in the centers of cool-core galaxy clusters, and in particular, how it reduces cloud velocity and sometimes causes an offset between the cold gas and young stars. The velocities of the molecular gas in both observations and our simulations fall in the range of 100–400 km s−1, which is much lower than expected if they fall from a few tens of kiloparsecs ballistically. If the intracluster medium (ICM) is at rest, the ram pressure of the ICM only slightly reduces the velocity of the clouds. When we assume that the clouds are actually “fluffier” because they are co-moving with a warm-hot layer, the velocity becomes smaller. If we also consider the active galactic nucleus wind in the cluster center by adding a wind profile measured from the simulation, the clouds are further slowed down at small radii, and the resulting velocities are in general agreement with the observations and simulations. Because ram pressure only affects gas but not stars, it can cause a separation between a filament and young stars that formed in the filament as they move through the ICM together. This separation has been observed in Perseus and also exists in our simulations. We show that the star-filament offset, combined with line-of-sight velocity measurements, can help determine the true motion of the cold gas, and thus distinguish between inflows and outflows.