Molecular Outflows in Local ULIRGs: Energetics from Multitransition OH Analysis
Journal article, 2017

We report on the energetics of molecular outflows in 14 local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) that show unambiguous outflow signatures (P Cygni profiles or high-velocity absorption wings) in the far-infrared lines of OH measured with the Herschel/PACS spectrometer. All sample galaxies are gas-rich mergers at various stages of the merging process. Detection of both ground-state (at 119 and 79 mu m) and one or more radiatively excited (at 65 and 84 mu m) lines allows us to model the nuclear gas (. 300 pc) and the more extended components using spherically symmetric radiative transfer models. Reliable models and the corresponding energetics are found in 12 of the 14 sources. The highest molecular outflow velocities are found in buried sources, in which slower but massive expansion of the nuclear gas is also observed. With the exception of a few outliers, the outflows have momentum fluxes of (2-5) x L-IR/c and mechanical luminosities of (0.1-0.3)% of L-IR. The moderate momentum boosts in these sources (. 3) suggest that the outflows are mostly momentum driven by the combined effects of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and nuclear starbursts, as a result of radiation pressure, winds, and supernova remnants. In some sources ( similar to 20%), however, powerful (10(10.5- 11) L circle dot) AGN feedback and (partially) energy-conserving phases are required, with momentum boosts in the range of 3-20. These outflows appear to be stochastic, strong AGN feedback events that occur throughout the merging process. In a few sources, the outflow activity in the innermost regions has subsided in the past similar to 1 Myr. While OH traces the molecular outflows at subkiloparsec scales, comparison of the masses traced by OH with those previously inferred from tracers of more extended outflowing gas suggests that most mass is loaded (with loading factors of M/SFR = 1-10) from the central galactic cores (a few. x. 100 pc), qualitatively consistent with an ongoing inside-out quenching of star formation. Outflow depletion timescales are <10(8) yr, shorter than the gas consumption timescales by factors of 1.1-15, and are anticorrelated with the AGN luminosity.

herschel-pacs

m-bh-sigma

nuclei

extreme l-fir/m-h2 ratios

compact obscured nucleus

formation-ine

agn feedback

black-hole mass

ISM-infrared

star-formation

galaxies

profiles-radiative transfer

jets and outflows-ine

ultraluminous infrared galaxies

glaxies-ISM

active galactic

mrk 231

Author

E. Gonzalez-Alfonso

University of Alcalá

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

J. Fischer

Naval Research Laboratory

H. W. W. Spoon

Cornell University

K. P. Stewart

Naval Research Laboratory

M. L. N. Ashby

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

S. Veilleux

University of Maryland

H. A. Smith

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

E. Sturm

Max Planck Society

D. Farrah

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Niklas Falstad

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics

M. Melendez

University of Maryland

KBRwyle

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

J. Gracia-Carpio

Max Planck Society

A. W. Janssen

Max Planck Society

V. Lebouteiller

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)

Astrophysical Journal

0004-637X (ISSN) 1538-4357 (eISSN)

Vol. 836 1 11

Subject Categories

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Infrastructure

Onsala Space Observatory

DOI

10.3847/1538-4357/836/1/11

More information

Latest update

5/30/2018