Characterization of Two Cool Galaxy Outflow Candidates Using Mid-Infrared Emission from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Jessica Sutter, Karin Sandstrom, Ryan Chown, Oleg Egorov, Adam K. Leroy, Jérémy Chastenet, Alberto Bolatto, Thomas G. Williams, Daniel A. Dale, Amirnezam Amiri, Médéric Boquein, Yixian Cao, Simthembile Dlamini, Éric Emsellem, Hsi-An Pan, Debosmita Pathak, Hwihyun Kim, Ralf S. Klessen, Hannah Koziol, Erik Rosolowsky, Sumit K. Sarbadhicary, Eva Schinnerer, David A. Thilker, Leonardo Úbeda, Tony Weinbeck
公開日: 2025/9/15
Abstract
We characterize two candidate cool galactic outflows in two relatively low mass, highly inclined Virgo cluster galaxies: NGC4424 and NGC4694. Previous analyses of observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) carbon monoxide (CO) line emission maps did not classify these sources as cool outflow hosts. Using new high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, JWST mid-infrared photometry in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-tracing F770W band, we identify extended structures present off of the stellar disk. The identified structures are bright in the MIRI F770W and F2100W bands, suggesting they include PAHs as well as other dust grains. As PAHs have been shown to be destroyed in hot, ionized gas, these structures are likely to be outflows of cool (T$\leq 10^4$K) gas. This work represents an exciting possibility for using mid infrared observations to identify and measure outflows in lower mass, lower star formation galaxies.