2019AJ....158..169S -
Astron. J., 158, 169-169 (2019/October-0)
The hot gas exhaust of starburst engines in mergers: testing models of stellar feedback and star formation regulation.
SMITH B.J., WAGSTAFF P., STRUCK C., SORIA R., DUNN B., SWARTZ D. and GIROUX M.L.
Abstract (from CDS):
Using archival data from the Chandra X-ray telescope, we have measured the spatial extent of the hot interstellar gas in a sample of 49 nearby interacting galaxy pairs, mergers, and merger remnants. For systems with SFR > 1 M☉ yr–1, the volume and mass of hot gas are strongly and linearly correlated with the star formation rate (SFR). This supports the idea that stellar/supernovae feedback dominates the production of hot gas in these galaxies. We compared the mass of X-ray-emitting hot gas MX(gas) with the molecular and atomic hydrogen interstellar gas masses in these galaxies (MH2_ and M_H I_, respectively), using published carbon monoxide and 21 cm H I measurements. Systems with higher SFRs have larger MX(gas)/(MH2_ + M_H I_) ratios on average, in agreement with recent numerical simulations of star formation and feedback in merging galaxies. The MX(gas)/(MH2_ + M_H I_) ratio also increases with dust temperature on average. The ratio MX(gas)/SFR is anticorrelated with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite 60-100 µm flux ratio and with the Spitzer 3.6-24 µm color. These trends may be due to variations in the spatial density of young stars, the stellar age, the ratio of young to old stars, the initial mass function, and/or the efficiency of stellar feedback. Galaxies with low SFR (<1 M☉ yr–1) and high K band luminosities may have an excess of hot gas relative to the relation for higher SFR galaxies, while galaxies with low K band luminosities (and therefore low stellar masses) may have a deficiency in hot gas, but our sample is not large enough for strong statistical significance.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: interactions - galaxies: ISM - X-rays: galaxies
VizieR on-line data:
<Available at CDS (J/AJ/158/169): table1.dat table2.dat table3.dat table4.dat>
Simbad objects:
71
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