JWST Observations of Starbursts: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission at the Base of the M 82 Galactic Wind

We present new observations of the central 1 kpc of the M 82 starburst obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument at a resolution ~0.05"-0.1" (~1-2 pc). The data comprises images in three mostly continuum filters (F140M, F250M, and F360M),...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-04
Main Authors: Bolatto, Alberto D, Levy, Rebecca C, Tarantino, Elizabeth, Boyer, Martha L, Fisher, Deanne B, Leroy, Adam K, Cronin, Serena A, Klessen, Ralf S, Smith, J D, Berg, Dannielle A, Boeker, Torsten, Boogaard, Leindert A, Ostriker, Eve C, Thompson, Todd A, Ott, Juergen, Lenkic, Laura, Lopez, Laura A, Dale, Daniel A, Veilleux, Sylvain, Paul P van der Werf, Glover, Simon C O, Sandstrom, Karin M, Skillman, Evan D, Chisholm, John, Villanueva, Vicente, Lai, Thomas S -Y, Lopez, Sebastian, Mills, Elisabeth A C, Emig, Kimberly L, Armus, Lee, Divakara Maya, Meier, David S, De Looze, Ilse, Herrera-Camus, Rodrigo, Fabian, Walter, Relano, Monica, Koziol, Hannah B, Marvil, Joshua, Jimenez-Donaire, Maria J, Martini, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Fluid filters
Galactic winds
Infrared cameras
Infrared telescopes
James Webb Space Telescope
Photoionization
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Radio emission
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present new observations of the central 1 kpc of the M 82 starburst obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument at a resolution ~0.05"-0.1" (~1-2 pc). The data comprises images in three mostly continuum filters (F140M, F250M, and F360M), and filters that contain [FeII] (F164N), H2 v=1-0 (F212N), and the 3.3 um PAH feature (F335M). We find prominent plumes of PAH emission extending outward from the central starburst region, together with a network of complex filamentary substructure and edge-brightened bubble-like features. The structure of the PAH emission closely resembles that of the ionized gas, as revealed in Paschen alpha and free-free radio emission. We discuss the origin of the structure, and suggest the PAHs are embedded in a combination of neutral, molecular, and photoionized gas.
ISSN:2331-8422