A 60 kpc Galactic Wind Cone in NGC 3079

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 903; no. 1; pp. 35 - 47
• Main Authors: Hodges-Kluck, Edmund J., Yukita, Mihoko, Tanner, Ryan, Ptak, Andrew F., Bregman, Joel N., Li, Jiang-tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Goddard Space Flight Center The American Astronomical Society 01.11.2020; American Astronomical Society / IOP Publishing; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Active galactic nuclei; Astronomy; Astrophysics; Emission; Galactic evolution; Galactic winds; Galaxies; Intergalactic media; Kinetic energy; Late-type galaxies; Morphology; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation; Starburst galaxies; Stellar winds; Supernovae; Wind
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abb884

Galactic winds are associated with intense star formation and active galactic nuclei. Depending on their formation mechanism and velocity, they may remove a significant fraction of gas from their host galaxies, thus suppressing star formation, enriching the intergalactic medium, and shaping the circumgalactic gas. However, the long-term evolution of these winds remains mostly unknown. We report the detection of a wind from NGC 3079 to at least 60 kpc from the galaxy. We detect the wind in far-ultraviolet (FUV) line emission to 60 kpc (as inferred from the broad FUV filter in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer) and X-rays to at least 30 kpc. The morphology, luminosities, temperatures, and densities indicate that the emission comes from shocked material, and the O/Fe ratio implies that the X-ray-emitting gas is enriched by Type II supernovae. If so, the speed inferred from simple shock models is about 500 km s−1, which is sufficient to escape the galaxy. However, the inferred kinetic energy in the wind from visible components is substantially smaller than canonical hot superwind models.