Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP

N. M. McClure-Griffiths; H. Dénes; J. M. Dickey; S. Stanimirović; L. Staveley-Smith; Katherine Jameson; Enrico Di Teodoro; James R. Allison; J. D. Collier; A. P. Chippendale; T. Franzen; Gülay Gürkan; G. Heald; A. Hotan; D. Kleiner; K. Lee-Waddell; D. McConnell; A. Popping; Jonghwan Rhee; C. J. Riseley; M. A. Voronkov; M. Whiting

doi:10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8

Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP

N. M. McClure-Griffiths, H. Dénes, J. M. Dickey, S. Stanimirović, L. Staveley-Smith, Katherine Jameson, Enrico Di Teodoro, James R. Allison, J. D. Collier, A. P. Chippendale, T. Franzen, Gülay Gürkan, G. Heald, A. Hotan, D. Kleiner, K. Lee-Waddell, D. McConnell, A. Popping, Jonghwan Rhee, C. J. RiseleyM. A. Voronkov, M. Whiting

International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Feedback from massive stars plays a critical part in the evolution of the Universe by driving powerful outflows from galaxies that enrich the intergalactic medium and regulate star formation¹. An important source of outflows may be the most numerous galaxies in the Universe: dwarf galaxies. With small gravitational potential wells, these galaxies easily lose their star-forming material in the presence of intense stellar feedback^1,2. Here, we show that a nearby dwarf galaxy—the Small Magellanic Cloud—has atomic hydrogen outflows extending at least 2 kiloparsecs from the star-forming bar of the galaxy. The outflows are cold (< 400 K) and may have formed during a period of active star formation 25–60 Myr ago^3,4. The total mass of atomic gas in the outflow is about 10⁷ solar masses (that is, about 3 per cent of the total atomic gas of the galaxy). The inferred mass flux in atomic gas alone, ṀHI ≈ 0.2–1.0 solar masses per year, is up to one order of magnitude greater than the star-formation rate. We suggest that most of the observed outflow will be stripped from the Small Magellanic Cloud through its interaction with its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Milky Way, feeding the Magellanic Stream of hydrogen encircling the Milky Way.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	901-906
Number of pages	6
Journal	Nature Astronomy
Volume	2
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2018

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McClure-Griffiths, N. M., Dénes, H., Dickey, J. M., Stanimirović, S., Staveley-Smith, L., Jameson, K., Di Teodoro, E., Allison, J. R., Collier, J. D., Chippendale, A. P., Franzen, T., Gürkan, G., Heald, G., Hotan, A., Kleiner, D., Lee-Waddell, K., McConnell, D., Popping, A., Rhee, J., ... Whiting, M. (2018). Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP. Nature Astronomy, 2(11), 901-906. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8

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title = "Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP",

abstract = "Feedback from massive stars plays a critical part in the evolution of the Universe by driving powerful outflows from galaxies that enrich the intergalactic medium and regulate star formation1. An important source of outflows may be the most numerous galaxies in the Universe: dwarf galaxies. With small gravitational potential wells, these galaxies easily lose their star-forming material in the presence of intense stellar feedback1,2. Here, we show that a nearby dwarf galaxy—the Small Magellanic Cloud—has atomic hydrogen outflows extending at least 2 kiloparsecs from the star-forming bar of the galaxy. The outflows are cold (< 400 K) and may have formed during a period of active star formation 25–60 Myr ago3,4. The total mass of atomic gas in the outflow is about 107 solar masses (that is, about 3 per cent of the total atomic gas of the galaxy). The inferred mass flux in atomic gas alone, ṀHI ≈ 0.2–1.0 solar masses per year, is up to one order of magnitude greater than the star-formation rate. We suggest that most of the observed outflow will be stripped from the Small Magellanic Cloud through its interaction with its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Milky Way, feeding the Magellanic Stream of hydrogen encircling the Milky Way.",

author = "McClure-Griffiths, {N. M.} and H. D{\'e}nes and Dickey, {J. M.} and S. Stanimirovi{\'c} and L. Staveley-Smith and Katherine Jameson and {Di Teodoro}, Enrico and Allison, {James R.} and Collier, {J. D.} and Chippendale, {A. P.} and T. Franzen and G{\"u}lay G{\"u}rkan and G. Heald and A. Hotan and D. Kleiner and K. Lee-Waddell and D. McConnell and A. Popping and Jonghwan Rhee and Riseley, {C. J.} and Voronkov, {M. A.} and M. Whiting",

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doi = "10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8",

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McClure-Griffiths, NM, Dénes, H, Dickey, JM, Stanimirović, S, Staveley-Smith, L, Jameson, K, Di Teodoro, E, Allison, JR, Collier, JD, Chippendale, AP, Franzen, T, Gürkan, G, Heald, G, Hotan, A, Kleiner, D, Lee-Waddell, K, McConnell, D, Popping, A, Rhee, J, Riseley, CJ, Voronkov, MA & Whiting, M 2018, 'Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP', Nature Astronomy, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 901-906. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP

AU - McClure-Griffiths, N. M.

AU - Dénes, H.

AU - Dickey, J. M.

AU - Stanimirović, S.

AU - Staveley-Smith, L.

AU - Jameson, Katherine

AU - Di Teodoro, Enrico

AU - Allison, James R.

AU - Collier, J. D.

AU - Chippendale, A. P.

AU - Franzen, T.

AU - Gürkan, Gülay

AU - Heald, G.

AU - Hotan, A.

AU - Kleiner, D.

AU - Lee-Waddell, K.

AU - McConnell, D.

AU - Popping, A.

AU - Rhee, Jonghwan

AU - Riseley, C. J.

AU - Voronkov, M. A.

AU - Whiting, M.

PY - 2018/11/1

Y1 - 2018/11/1

N2 - Feedback from massive stars plays a critical part in the evolution of the Universe by driving powerful outflows from galaxies that enrich the intergalactic medium and regulate star formation1. An important source of outflows may be the most numerous galaxies in the Universe: dwarf galaxies. With small gravitational potential wells, these galaxies easily lose their star-forming material in the presence of intense stellar feedback1,2. Here, we show that a nearby dwarf galaxy—the Small Magellanic Cloud—has atomic hydrogen outflows extending at least 2 kiloparsecs from the star-forming bar of the galaxy. The outflows are cold (< 400 K) and may have formed during a period of active star formation 25–60 Myr ago3,4. The total mass of atomic gas in the outflow is about 107 solar masses (that is, about 3 per cent of the total atomic gas of the galaxy). The inferred mass flux in atomic gas alone, ṀHI ≈ 0.2–1.0 solar masses per year, is up to one order of magnitude greater than the star-formation rate. We suggest that most of the observed outflow will be stripped from the Small Magellanic Cloud through its interaction with its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Milky Way, feeding the Magellanic Stream of hydrogen encircling the Milky Way.

AB - Feedback from massive stars plays a critical part in the evolution of the Universe by driving powerful outflows from galaxies that enrich the intergalactic medium and regulate star formation1. An important source of outflows may be the most numerous galaxies in the Universe: dwarf galaxies. With small gravitational potential wells, these galaxies easily lose their star-forming material in the presence of intense stellar feedback1,2. Here, we show that a nearby dwarf galaxy—the Small Magellanic Cloud—has atomic hydrogen outflows extending at least 2 kiloparsecs from the star-forming bar of the galaxy. The outflows are cold (< 400 K) and may have formed during a period of active star formation 25–60 Myr ago3,4. The total mass of atomic gas in the outflow is about 107 solar masses (that is, about 3 per cent of the total atomic gas of the galaxy). The inferred mass flux in atomic gas alone, ṀHI ≈ 0.2–1.0 solar masses per year, is up to one order of magnitude greater than the star-formation rate. We suggest that most of the observed outflow will be stripped from the Small Magellanic Cloud through its interaction with its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Milky Way, feeding the Magellanic Stream of hydrogen encircling the Milky Way.

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DO - 10.1038/s41550-018-0608-8

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VL - 2

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JO - Nature Astronomy

JF - Nature Astronomy

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ER -

Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP

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