CTC Seminar: Sebastian Lopez (OSU), Galactic Winds through a Panchromatic Lens: A Multiwavelength View of Feedback in Nearby Galaxies

Galactic Winds through a Panchromatic Lens: A Multiwavelength View of Feedback in Nearby Galaxies

Sebastian Lopez 
Grad Student

Abstract: Galactic outflows, or winds, are the result of intense periods of star formation (starbursts) or active galactic nuclei (AGN). Regardless of their origin, galactic winds are multiphase in nature and require a multiwavelength approach to fully understand how they evolve, impact their host galaxies, and enrich the surrounding circumgalactic and intergalactic media with metals. In this talk, I will present results from our study of nearby galactic winds using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, synthesized with multiwavelength observations from HST, JWST and IRAM. We find that the temperature and density profiles of the X-ray emitting phase disagree with theoretical models at kiloparsec distances where the observed profiles are much shallower, likely due to mass loading and non-spherical wind expansion. In our work we also detect a significant contribution (up to 40%) from charge exchange (CX) across various systems, a feature not previously noted in the literature, which can substantially affect estimated metal abundances in the outflow. The gradients of these metal abundances vary between targets and may relate to differences in galaxy mass. Using high-resolution, multiwavelength datasets, we present results on how the hot wind interacts with the surrounding cooler phases including cool cloud survival, shock ionization of cooler material, and the impact on the survival and fate of dust entrained in the wind.

Host: Ankita Bera