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Temperature and Metallicity Gradients in the Hot Gas Outflows of M82

Presentation #107.04 in the session “ISM/Galaxies/Clusters (Poster)”.

Published onApr 01, 2022
Temperature and Metallicity Gradients in the Hot Gas Outflows of M82

I will present deep Chandra X-ray Observatory imaging and spectra of M82, the prototype of a starbursting galaxy with a multiphase wind. We use these data to map the hot plasma properties along the minor axis of the galaxy, up to 2.5 kpc from the starburst midplane. We find gradients in the best-fit parameters to the spatially-resolved spectra, with temperatures and densities peaking at the starburst ridge and decreasing along the minor axis. These profiles are inconsistent with adiabatic expansion of a superheated wind and suggest mass loading and mixing of the hot phase with colder material. Additionally, we detect emission from non-thermal processes and charge-exchange and evaluate their contribution. Finally, we show that the abundances of O, Ne, Mg, and Fe are roughly constant across the regions considered, while Si and S peak within 500 pc of the starburst. These findings support a direct connection between the M82 superwind and the warm-hot, metal-rich circumgalactic medium.

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