An X-ray and Optical Investigation of the Starburst-driven Superwind in the Galaxy Merger Arp 299

Abstract

We present a detailed investigation of the X-ray and optical properties of the starburst-merger system Arp299 (NGC 3690, Mrk 171), with an emphasis on its spectacular gaseous nebula. We analyse \rosat and \asca X-ray data and optical spectra and narrow-band images. We suggest that the on-going galaxy collision has tidally-redistributed the ISM of the merging galaxies. The optical emission-line nebula results as this gas is photoionized by radiation that escapes from the starburst, and is shock-heated, accelerated, and pressurized by a `superwind' driven by the collective effect of the starburst supernovae and stellar winds. The X-ray nebula in Arp 299 is is plausibly a mass-loaded flow of adiabatically-cooling gas that carries out a substantial fraction of the energy and metals injected by the starburst at close to the escape velocity from Arp 299. The mass outflow rate likely exceeds the star-formation rate in this system. We conclude that powerful starbursts are able to heat (and possibly eject) a significant fraction of the ISM in merging galaxies.

54 pages, 17 postscript figures, AAS latex

References in corpus (2)

• What Powers Ultra-luminous IRAS Galaxies?
• Supernovae Types Ia/II and Intracluster Medium Enrichment

Cited by in corpus (30)

• Absorption-Line Probes of Gas and Dust in Galactic Superwinds
• Outflows in Infrared-Luminous Starbursts at z < 0.5. II. Analysis and Discussion
• High-resolution HI Mapping of NGC 4038/9 ("The Antennae") and its Tidal Dwarf Galaxy Candidates
• Chandra Observations of the Luminous IR Galaxy NGC3256
• Arp 299: a second merging system with two active nuclei?
• The Super-linear Slope of the Spatially-Resolved Star Formation Law in NGC 3521 and NGC 5194 (M51a)
• A 180 Kpc Tidal Tail in the Luminous Infrared Merger Arp 299
• The Seyfert-Starburst Connection in X-rays. II. Results and Implications
• The Neutral Hydrogen Distribution in Merging Galaxies: Differences between Stellar and Gaseous Tidal Morphologies
• An enshrouded AGN in the merging starburst system Arp~299 revealed by BeppoSAX
• Chandra observations of the X-ray luminous star-forming galaxy merger Arp~299
• A hard X-ray constraint on the presence of an AGN in the ultra-luminous infrared galaxy Arp220
• ASCA Observations of "Type 2" LINERs: Evidence for a Stellar Source of Ionization
• A new technique to efficiently select Compton-thick AGN
• Chandra HRC and HST observations of NGC6240: resolving the AGN and Starburst
• The Exceptional Soft X-ray Halo of the Galaxy Merger NGC 6240
• Emission-Line Properties of the Optical Filaments of NGC 1275
• Effects of dust scattering albedo and 2175 A bump on ultraviolet colours of normal disc galaxies
• Infrared 2-4 Micron Spectroscopy and Millimeter Interferometric HCN and HCO+ Observations of the Individual Merging Components of Arp299
• On the buildup of massive early-type galaxies at z<~1. I- Reconciling their hierarchical assembly with mass-downsizing
• Luminous infrared galaxies as possible sources of the UHE cosmic rays
• GeV $\gamma$-ray emission from M33 and Arp~299
• CALIFA Spectroscopy of the Interacting Galaxy NGC 5394 (Arp 84): Starbursts, Enhanced [NII]6584 and Signs of Outflows and Shocks
• A deep Chandra observation of the interacting star-forming galaxy Arp 299
• An analytic model for the galactic winds and mass outflows
• The Nature of the Diffuse Clumps and the X-ray Companion of Mrk 273
• Elemental Abundances of the Hot Atmosphere of Luminous Infrared Galaxy Arp 299
• Investigating starburst-driven neutrino emission from galaxies in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey
• Gravitational and mass distribution effects on stationary superwinds
• Results on Panoramic Spectroscopy of MRK 171