arXiv subjects

Karin Sandstrom

Publications and source records attributed to Karin Sandstrom.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

PHANGS-JWST First Results: Mapping the 3.3 micron Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Vibrational Band in Nearby Galaxies with NIRCam Medium Bands

We present maps of the 3.3 micron polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission feature in NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496 as observed with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) imager on JWST from the PHANGS-JWST Cycle 1 Treasury project. We create maps that isolate the 3.3 micron PAH feature in the F335M filter (F335M$_{\rm PAH}$) using combinations of the F300M and F360M filters for removal of starlight continuum. This continuum removal is complicated by contamination of the F360M by PAH emission and variations in the stellar spectral energy distribution slopes between 3.0 and 3.6 micron. We modify the empirical prescription from Lai et al. (2020) to remove the starlight continuum in our highly resolved galaxies, which have a range of starlight- and PAH-dominated lines-of-sight. Analyzing radially binned profiles of the F335M$_{\rm PAH}$ emission, we find that between 5-65% of the F335M intensity comes from the 3.3 micron feature within the inner 0.5 $r_{25}$ of our targets. This percentage systematically varies from galaxy to galaxy, and shows radial trends within the galaxies related to each galaxy's distribution of stellar mass, interstellar medium, and star formation. The 3.3 micron emission is well correlated with the 11.3 micron PAH feature traced with the MIRI F1130W filter, as is expected, since both features arise from C-H vibrational modes. The average F335M$_{\rm PAH}$/F1130W ratio agrees with the predictions of recent models by Draine et al. (2021) for PAHs with size and charge distributions shifted towards larger grains with normal or higher ionization.

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: A Global and Moderately Resolved View of Mid-Infrared and CO Line Emission from Galaxies at the Start of the JWST Era

We explore the relationship between mid-infrared (mid-IR) and CO rotational line emission from massive star-forming galaxies, which is one of the tightest scalings in the local universe. We assemble a large set of unresolved and moderately ($\sim 1$ kpc) spatially resolved measurements of CO (1-0) and CO (2-1) intensity, $I_{\rm CO}$, and mid-IR intensity, $I_{\rm MIR}$, at 8, 12, 22, and 24$μ$m. The $I_{\rm CO}$ vs. $I_{\rm MIR}$ relationship is reasonably described by a power law with slopes $0.7{-}1.2$ and normalization $I_{\rm CO} \sim 1$ K km s$^{-1}$ at $I_{\rm MIR} \sim 1$ MJy sr$^{-1}$. Both the slopes and intercepts vary systematically with choice of line and band. The comparison between the relations measured for CO~(1-0) and CO (2-1) allow us to infer that $R_{21} \propto I_{\rm MIR}^{0.2}$, in good agreement with other work. The $8μ$m and $12μ$m bands, with strong PAH features, show steeper CO vs. mid-IR slopes than the $22μ$m and $24μ$m, consistent with PAH emission arising not just from CO-bright gas but also from atomic or CO-dark gas. The CO-to-mid-IR ratio correlates with global galaxy stellar mass ($M_\star$) and anti-correlates with SFR/$M_\star$. At $\sim 1$ kpc resolution, the first four PHANGS-JWST targets show CO to mid-IR relationships that are quantitatively similar to our larger literature sample, including showing the steep CO-to-mid-IR slopes for the JWST PAH-tracing bands, although we caution that these initial data have a small sample size and span a limited range of intensities.

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: Measuring PAH Properties across the multiphase ISM

Ratios of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) vibrational bands are a promising tool for measuring the properties of the PAH population and their effect on star formation. The photometric bands of the MIRI and NIRCam instruments on JWST provide the opportunity to measure PAH emission features across entire galaxy disks at unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. Here we present the first results of this analysis in a sample of three nearby galaxies: NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496. Based on the variations observed in the 3.3, 7.7, and 11.3 $μ$m features, we infer changes to the average PAH size and ionization state across the different galaxy environments. High values of F335M$_{\rm PAH}$/F1130W and low values of F1130W/F770W are measured in H II regions in all three galaxies. This suggests that these regions are populated by hotter PAHs, and/or that the PAH ionization fraction is larger. We see additional evidence of heating and/or changes in PAH size in regions with higher molecular gas content as well as increased ionization in regions with higher H$α$ intensity.

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arXiv2022

CI and CO in Nearby Spiral Galaxies -- I. Line Ratio and Abundance Variations at ~ 200 pc Scales

We present new neutral atomic carbon [CI](3P1-3P0) mapping observations within the inner ~7 kpc and ~4 kpc of the disks of NGC3627 and NGC4321 at a spatial resolution of 190 pc and 270 pc, respectively, using the ALMA Atacama Compact Array (ACA). We combine these with the CO(2-1) data from PHANGS-ALMA, and literature [CI] and CO data for two other starburst and/or active galactic nucleus (AGN) galaxies (NGC1808, NGC7469), to study: a) the spatial distributions of CI and CO emission; b) the observed line ratio RCICO = I_[CI](1-0)/I_CO(2-1) as a function of various galactic properties; and c) the abundance ratio of [CI/CO]. We find excellent spatial correspondence between CI and CO emission and nearly uniform RCICO ~0.1 across the majority of the star-forming disks of NGC3627 and NGC4321. However, RCICO strongly varies from ~0.05 at the centre of NGC4321 to >0.2-0.5 in NGC1808's starburst centre and NGC7469's centre with an X-ray AGN. Meanwhile, RCICO does not obviously vary with $U$, similar to the prediction of PDR models. We also find a mildly decreasing RCICO with an increasing metallicity over 0.7-0.85 solar metallicity, consistent with the literature. Assuming various typical ISM conditions representing GMCs, active star-forming regions and strong starbursting environments, we calculate the LTE radiative transfer and estimate the [CI/CO] abundance ratio to be ~0.1 across the disks of NGC3627 and NGC4321, similar to previous large-scale findings in Galactic studies. However, this abundance ratio likely has a substantial increase to ~1 and >1-5 in NGC1808's starburst and NGC7469's strong AGN environments, respectively, in line with the expectations for cosmic-ray dominated region (CRDR) and X-ray dominated region (XDR) chemistry. Finally, we do not find a robust evidence for a generally CO-dark, CI-bright gas in the disk areas we probed. (abbreviated)

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: Stellar Feedback-Driven Excitation and Dissociation of Molecular Gas in the Starburst Ring of NGC 1365?

We compare embedded young massive star clusters (YMCs) to (sub-)millimeter line observations tracing the excitation and dissociation of molecular gas in the starburst ring of NGC 1365. This galaxy hosts one of the strongest nuclear starbursts and richest populations of YMCs within 20 Mpc. Here we combine near-/mid-IR PHANGS-JWST imaging with new ALMA multi-J CO (1-0, 2-1 and 4-3) and [CI](1-0) mapping, which we use to trace CO excitation via R42 = I_CO(4-3)/I_CO(2-1) and R21 = I_CO(2-1)/I_CO(1-0) and dissociation via RCICO = I_[CI](1-0)/I_CO(2-1) at 330 pc resolution. We find that the gas flowing into the starburst ring from northeast to southwest appears strongly affected by stellar feedback, showing decreased excitation (lower R42) and increased signatures of dissociation (higher RCICO) in the downstream regions. There, radiative transfer modeling suggests that the molecular gas density decreases and temperature and [CI/CO] abundance ratio increase. We compare R42 and RCICO with local conditions across the regions and find that both correlate with near-IR 2 um emission tracing the YMCs and with both PAH (11.3 um) and dust continuum (21 um) emission. In general, RCICO exhibits ~ 0.1 dex tighter correlations than R42, suggesting CI to be a more sensitive tracer of changing physical conditions in the NGC 1365 starburst than CO (4-3). Our results are consistent with a scenario where gas flows into the two arm regions along the bar, becomes condensed/shocked, forms YMCs, and then these YMCs heat and dissociate the gas.

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: Duration of the early phase of massive star formation in NGC628

The earliest stages of star formation, when young stars are still deeply embedded in their natal clouds, represent a critical phase in the matter cycle between gas clouds and young stellar regions. Until now, the high-resolution infrared observations required for characterizing this heavily obscured phase (during which massive stars have formed, but optical emission is not detected) could only be obtained for a handful of the most nearby galaxies. One of the main hurdles has been the limited angular resolution of the Spitzer Space Telescope. With the revolutionary capabilities of the JWST, it is now possible to investigate the matter cycle during the earliest phases of star formation as a function of the galactic environment. In this Letter, we demonstrate this by measuring the duration of the embedded phase of star formation and the implied time over which molecular clouds remain inert in the galaxy NGC628 at a distance of 9.8Mpc, demonstrating that the cosmic volume where this measurement can be made has increased by a factor of $>100$ compared to Spitzer. We show that young massive stars remain embedded for $5.1_{-1.4}^{+2.7}$Myr ($2.3_{-1.4}^{+2.7}$Myr of which being heavily obscured), representing $\sim20\%$ of the total cloud lifetime. These values are in broad agreement with previous measurements in five nearby ($D < 3.5$Mpc) galaxies and constitute a proof of concept for the systematic characterization of the early phase of star formation across the nearby galaxy population with the PHANGS-JWST survey.

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: The Influence of Stellar Clusters on PAHs in Nearby Galaxies

We present a comparison of theoretical predictions of dust continuum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission with new JWST observations in three nearby galaxies: NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496. Our analysis focuses on a total of 1063 compact stellar clusters and 2654 stellar associations previously characterized by HST in the three galaxies. We find that the distributions and trends in the observed PAH-focused infrared colors generally agree with theoretical expectations, and that the bulk of the observations is more aligned with models of larger, ionized PAHs. These JWST data usher in a new era of probing interstellar dust and studying how the intense radiation fields near stellar clusters and associations play a role in shaping the physical properties of PAHs.

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arXiv2022

PHANGS-JWST First Results: Dust embedded star clusters in NGC 7496 selected via 3.3 $μ$m PAH emission

The earliest stages of star formation occur enshrouded in dust and are not observable in the optical. Here we leverage the extraordinary new high-resolution infrared imaging from JWST to begin the study of dust-embedded star clusters in nearby galaxies throughout the local volume. We present a technique for identifying dust-embedded clusters in NGC 7496 (18.7 Mpc), the first galaxy to be observed by the PHANGS-JWST Cycle 1 Treasury Survey. We select sources that have strong 3.3$μ$m PAH emission based on a $\rm F300M-F335M$ color excess, and identify 67 candidate embedded clusters. Only eight of these are found in the PHANGS-HST optically-selected cluster catalog and all are young (six have SED-fit ages of $\sim1$ Myr). We find that this sample of embedded cluster candidates may significantly increase the census of young clusters in NGC 7496 from the PHANGS-HST catalog -- the number of clusters younger than $\sim$2 Myr could be increased by a factor of two. Candidates are preferentially located in dust lanes, and are coincident with peaks in PHANGS-ALMA CO (2-1) maps. We take a first look at concentration indices, luminosity functions, SEDs spanning from 2700A to 21$μ$m, and stellar masses (estimated to be between $\sim10^4-10^5 M_{\odot}$). The methods tested here provide a basis for future work to derive accurate constraints on the physical properties of embedded clusters, characterize the completeness of cluster samples, and expand analysis to all 19 galaxies in the PHANGS-JWST sample, which will enable basic unsolved problems in star formation and cluster evolution to be addressed.

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arXiv2022

DUVET: Spatially Resolved Observations of Star Formation Regulation via Galactic Outflows in a Starbursting Disk Galaxy

We compare 500~pc scale, resolved observations of ionised and molecular gas for the $z\sim0.02$ starbursting disk galaxy IRAS08339+6517, using measurements from KCWI and NOEMA. We explore the relationship of the star formation driven ionised gas outflows with colocated galaxy properties. We find a roughly linear relationship between the outflow mass flux ($\dotΣ_{\rm out}$) and star formation rate surface density ($Σ_{\rm SFR}$), $\dotΣ_{\rm out}\proptoΣ_{\rm SFR}^{1.06\pm0.10}$, and a strong correlation between $\dotΣ_{\rm out}$ and the gas depletion time, such that $\dotΣ_{\rm out} \propto t_{dep}^{-1.1\pm0.06}$. Moreover, we find these outflows are so-called ``breakout" outflows, according to the relationship between the gas fraction and disk kinematics. Assuming that ionised outflow mass scales with total outflow mass, our observations suggest that the regions of highest $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ in IRAS08 are removing more gas via the outflow than through the conversion of gas into stars. Our results are consistent with a picture in which the outflow limits the ability for a region of a disk to maintain short depletion times. Our results underline the need for resolved observations of outflows in more galaxies.

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arXiv2022

Sequential Star Formation in the Young SMC Region NGC 602: Insights from ALMA

NGC 602 is a young, low-metallicity star cluster in the "Wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud. We reveal the recent evolutionary past of the cluster through analysis of high-resolution ($\sim$0.4 pc) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of molecular gas in the associated $\textrm{H}\scriptstyle\mathrm{II}$ region N90. We identify 110 molecular clumps ($R <$ 0.8 pc) traced by CO emission, and study the relationship between the clumps and associated young stellar objects (YSOs) and pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars. The clumps have high virial parameters (typical $α_{\rm{vir}} = $ 4-11) and may retain signatures of a collision in the last $\lesssim$8 Myr between $\textrm{H}\scriptstyle\mathrm{I}$ components of the adjacent supergiant shell SMC-SGS 1. We obtain a CO-bright-to-H$_2$ gas conversion factor of $X_{CO,B} = (3.4 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$ (K km s$^{-1}$)$^{-1}$, and correct observed clump properties for CO-dark H$_2$ gas to derive a total molecular gas mass in N90 of $16,600 \pm 2,400 \ M_\odot$. We derive a recent ($\lesssim 1$ Myr) star formation rate of $130 \pm 30 \ M_{\odot}$ Myr$^{-1}$ with an efficiency of 8 $ \pm$ 3\% assessed through comparing total YSO mass to total molecular gas mass. Very few significant radial trends exist between clump properties or PMS star ages and distance from NGC 602. We do not find evidence for a triggered star formation scenario among the youngest ($\lesssim$2 Myr) stellar generations, and instead conclude that a sequential star formation process in which NGC 602 did not directly cause recent star formation in the region is likely.

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arXiv2022

Molecular Cloud Populations in the Context of Their Host Galaxy Environments: A Multiwavelength Perspective

We present a rich, multiwavelength, multiscale database built around the PHANGS-ALMA CO$\,$(2-1) survey and ancillary data. We use this database to present the distributions of molecular cloud populations and sub-galactic environments in 80 PHANGS galaxies, to characterize the relationship between population-averaged cloud properties and host galaxy properties, and to assess key timescales relevant to molecular cloud evolution and star formation. We show that PHANGS probes a wide range of kpc-scale gas, stellar, and star formation rate (SFR) surface densities, as well as orbital velocities and shear. The population-averaged cloud properties in each aperture correlate strongly with both local environmental properties and host galaxy global properties. Leveraging a variable selection analysis, we find that the kpc-scale surface densities of molecular gas and SFR tend to possess the most predictive power for the population-averaged cloud properties. Once their variations are controlled for, galaxy global properties contain little additional information, which implies that the apparent galaxy-to-galaxy variations in cloud populations are likely mediated by kpc-scale environmental conditions. We further estimate a suite of important timescales from our multiwavelength measurements. The cloud-scale free-fall time and turbulence crossing time are ${\sim}5{-}20$ Myr, comparable to previous cloud lifetime estimates. The timescales for orbital motion, shearing, and cloud-cloud collisions are longer, ${\sim}100$ Myr. The molecular gas depletion time is $1{-}3$ Gyr and shows weak to no correlations with the other timescales in our data. We publish our measurements online and expect them to have broad utility to future studies of molecular clouds and star formation.

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arXiv2022

METAL: The Metal Evolution, Transport, and Abundance in the Large Magellanic Cloud Hubble program. IV. Calibration of Dust Depletions vs Abundance Ratios in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds and Application to Damped Lyman-alpha Systems

The evolution of the metal content of the universe can be tracked through rest-frame UV spectroscopy of damped Ly-$α$ systems (DLAs). Gas-phase abundances in DLAs must be corrected for dust depletion effects, which can be accomplished by calibrating the relation between abundance ratios such as [Zn/Fe] and depletions (the fraction of metals in gas, as opposed to dust). Using samples of gas-phase abundances and depletions in the Milky Way (MW), LMC, and SMC, we demonstrate that the relation between [Zn/Fe] and other abundance ratios does not change significantly between these local galaxies and DLAs, indicating that [Zn/Fe] should trace depletions of heavy elements in those systems. The availability of photospheric abundances in young massive stars, a proxy for the total (gas+dust) metallicity of neutral gas, in the MW LMC, and SMC allows us to calibrate the relation between [Zn/Fe] and depletions in these nearby galaxies. We apply the local calibrations of depletions to DLA systems. We find that the fraction of metals in dust, the dust-to-gas-ratio, and total abundances are 2-5 times lower than inferred from previous depletion calibrations based on MW measurements and a different formalism. However, the trend of dust abundance vs. metallicity remains only slightly sub-linear for all existing depletion calibrations, contrary to what is inferred from FIR, 21 cm, and CO emission in nearby galaxies and predicted by chemical evolution models. Observational constraints on the FIR dust opacity and depletions at metallicities lower than 20\% solar will be needed to resolve this tension.

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arXiv2022

The DUVET Survey: Resolved Maps of Star Formation Driven Outflows in a Compact, Starbursting Disk Galaxy

We study star formation driven outflows in a $z\sim0.02$ starbursting disk galaxy, IRAS08339+6517, using spatially resolved measurements from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). We develop a new method incorporating a multi-step process to determine whether an outflow should be fit in each spaxel, and then subsequently decompose the emission line into multiple components. We detect outflows ranging in velocity, $v_{\rm out}$, from $100-600$ km s$^{-1}$ across a range of star formation rate surface densities, $Σ_{\rm SFR}$, from $\sim$0.01-10 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$ in resolution elements of a few hundred parsec. Outflows are detected in $\sim100\%$ of all spaxels within the half-light radius, and $\sim70\%$ within $r_{90}$, suggestive of a high covering fraction for this starbursting disk galaxy. Around $2/3$ of the total outflowing mass originates from the star forming ring, which corresponds to $<10\%$ of the total area of the galaxy. We find that the relationship between $v_{\rm out}$ and the $Σ_{\rm SFR}$, as well as between the mass loading factor, $η$, and the $Σ_{\rm SFR}$, are consistent with trends expected from energy-driven feedback models. We study the resolution effects on this relationship and find stronger correlations above a re-binned size-scale of $\sim500$ pc. Conversely, we do not find statistically significant consistency with the prediction from momentum-driven winds.

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arXiv2022

Kinematics and Feedback in H II regions in the Dwarf Starburst Galaxy IC 10

We present a survey of the central region of the nearest starburst galaxy, IC 10, using the W. M. Keck Observatory Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) at high spectral and spatial resolution. We map the central starburst of IC 10 to sample the kinematic and ionization properties of the individual star-forming regions. Using the low spectral resolution mode of KCWI we map the oxygen abundance and with the high spectral resolution mode we identify 46 individual H II regions. These H II regions have an average radius of 4.0 pc, star formation rate $\sim1.3\times10^{-4}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, and velocity dispersion $\sim$16 km s$^{-1}$. None of the H II regions appear to be virialized ($\rm α_{vir}>>1$), and, on average, they show evidence of ongoing expansion. IC 10's H II regions are offset from the star forming region size-luminosity scaling relationships, as well as Larson's Law that relates size and velocity dispersion. We investigate the balance of inward and outward pressure, $\rm P_{in}$ and $\rm P_{out}$, finding $\rm P_{out}>P_{in}$ in 89% of H II regions, indicating feedback driven expansion even in these low mass H II regions. We find warm gas pressure ($\rm P_{gas}$) provides the dominant contribution to the outward pressure ($\rm P_{out}$). This counteracts the inward pressure which is dominated by turbulence in the surrounding gas rather than self-gravity. Five H II regions show evidence of outflows which are most likely supported by either stellar winds (2 regions) or champagne flows (3 regions). These observations provide new insights into the state of the star-forming regions in IC 10 and negative feedback from low mass clusters.

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arXiv2021

The Two-Dimensional Metallicity Distribution and Mixing Scales of Nearby Galaxies

Understanding the spatial distribution of metals within galaxies allows us to study the processes of chemical enrichment and mixing in the interstellar medium (ISM). In this work, we map the two-dimensional distribution of metals using a Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) for 19 star-forming galaxies observed with the Very Large Telescope/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (VLT-MUSE) as part of the PHANGS-MUSE survey. We find that 12 of our 19 galaxies show significant two-dimensional metallicity variation. Those without significant variations typically have fewer metallicity measurements, indicating this is due to the dearth of HII regions in these galaxies, rather than a lack of higher-order variation. After subtracting a linear radial gradient, we see no enrichment in the spiral arms versus the disc. We measure the 50 per cent correlation scale from the two-point correlation function of these radially-subtracted maps, finding it to typically be an order of magnitude smaller than the fitted GPR kernel scale length. We study the dependence of the two-point correlation scale length with a number of global galaxy properties. We find no relationship between the 50 per cent correlation scale and the overall gas turbulence, in tension with existing theoretical models. We also find more actively star forming galaxies, and earlier type galaxies have a larger 50 per cent correlation scale. The size and stellar mass surface density do not appear to correlate with the 50 per cent correlation scale, indicating that perhaps the evolutionary state of the galaxy and its current star formation activity is the strongest indicator of the homogeneity of the metal distribution.

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arXiv2021

Low-J CO Line Ratios From Single Dish CO Mapping Surveys and PHANGS-ALMA

We measure the low-J CO line ratio R21=CO(2-1)/CO(1-0), R32=CO(3-2)/CO(2-1), and R31 = CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) using whole-disk CO maps of nearby galaxies. We draw CO(2-1) from PHANGS--ALMA, HERACLES, and follow-up IRAM surveys; CO(1-0) from COMING and the Nobeyama CO Atlas of Nearby Spiral Galaxies; and CO(3-2) from the JCMT NGLS and APEX LASMA mapping. Altogether this yields 76, 47, and 29 maps of R21, R32, and R31 at 20" \sim 1.3 kpc resolution, covering 43, 34, and 20 galaxies. Disk galaxies with high stellar mass, log10 M_* [Msun]=10.25-11 and star formation rate, SFR=1-5 Msun/yr, dominate the sample. We find galaxy-integrated mean values and 16%-84% range of R21 = 0.65 (0.50-0.83), R32=0.50 (0.23-0.59), and R31=0.31 (0.20-0.42). We identify weak trends relating galaxy-integrated line ratios to properties expected to correlate with excitation, including SFR/M_* and SFR/L_CO. Within galaxies, we measure central enhancements with respect to the galaxy-averaged value of \sim 0.18^{+0.09}_{-0.14} dex for R21, 0.27^{+0.13}_{-0.15} dex for R31, and 0.08^{+0.11}_{-0.09} dex for R32. All three line ratios anti-correlate with galactocentric radius and positively correlate with the local star formation rate surface density and specific star formation rate, and we provide approximate fits to these relations. The observed ratios can be reasonably reproduced by models with low temperature, moderate opacity, and moderate densities, in good agreement with expectations for the cold ISM. Because the line ratios are expected to anti-correlate with the CO(1-0)-to-H_2 conversion factor, alphaCO^(1-0), these results have general implications for the interpretation of CO emission from galaxies.

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arXiv2021

The DUVET Survey: Direct $T_e$-based metallicity mapping of metal-enriched outflows and metal-poor inflows in Mrk 1486

We present electron temperature ($T_e$) maps for the edge-on system Mrk 1486, affording "direct-method" gas-phase metallicity measurements across $5.\!\!^{\prime\prime}8$ (4.1 kpc) along the minor axis and $9.\!\!^{\prime\prime}9$ (6.9 kpc) along the major axis. These maps, enabled by strong detections of the [OIII]$λ$4363 auroral emission line across a large spatial extent of Mrk 1486, reveal a clear negative minor axis $T_e$ gradient in which temperature decreases with increasing distance from the disk plane. We find that the lowest metallicity spaxels lie near the extremes of the major axis, while the highest metallicity spaxels lie at large spatial offsets along the minor axis. This is consistent with a picture in which low metallicity inflows dilute the metallicity at the edges of the major axis of the disk, while star formation drives metal-enriched outflows along the minor axis. We find that the outflow metallicity in Mrk 1486 is 0.20 dex (1.6 times) higher than the average ISM metallicity, and more than 0.80 dex (6.3 times) higher than metal-poor inflowing gas, which we observe to be below 5 % $Z_\odot$. This is the first example of metallicity measurements made simultaneously for inflowing, outflowing, and inner disk ISM gas using consistent $T_e$-based methodology. These measurements provide unique insight into how baryon cycle processes contribute to the assembly of a galaxy like Mrk 1486.

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arXiv2021

On the duration of the embedded phase of star formation

Feedback from massive stars plays a key role in molecular cloud evolution. After the onset of star formation, the young stellar population is exposed by photoionization, winds, supernovae, and radiation pressure from massive stars. Recent observations of nearby galaxies have provided the evolutionary timeline between molecular clouds and exposed young stars, but the duration of the embedded phase of massive star formation is still ill-constrained. We measure how long massive stellar populations remain embedded within their natal cloud, by applying a statistical method to six nearby galaxies at 20-100 pc resolution, using CO, Spitzer 24$\rm\,μm$, and H$α$ emission as tracers of molecular clouds, embedded star formation, and exposed star formation, respectively. We find that the embedded phase (with CO and 24$\rm\,μm$ emission) lasts for $2{-}7$ Myr and constitutes $17{-}47\%$ of the cloud lifetime. During approximately the first half of this phase, the region is invisible in H$α$, making it heavily obscured. For the second half of this phase, the region also emits in H$α$ and is partially exposed. Once the cloud has been dispersed by feedback, 24$\rm\,μm$ emission no longer traces ongoing star formation, but remains detectable for another $2{-}9$ Myr through the emission from ambient CO-dark gas, tracing star formation that recently ended. The short duration of massive star formation suggests that pre-supernova feedback (photoionization and winds) is important in disrupting molecular clouds. The measured timescales do not show significant correlations with environmental properties (e.g. metallicity). Future JWST observations will enable these measurements routinely across the nearby galaxy population.

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