High Resolution Observations of Molecular Gas in the Outflow of M 82

Details High Resolution Observations of Molecular Gas in the Outflow of M 82 High Resolution Observations of Molecular Gas in the Outflow of M 82

Jun 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004iaus..217..314w&link_type=abstract

International Astronomical Union Symposium no. 217, held 14-17 July, 2003 in Sydney, Australia. Edited by P.-A. Duc, J. Braine

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We present a high-resolution (3.6'', 70 pc) CO(1-0) mosaic of the molecular gas in M 82 covering an area of 2.5'×3.5' (2.8 kpc×3.9 kpc) obtained with the OVRO millimeter interferometer. The observations reveal the presence of huge amounts of molecular gas (> 70% of the total molecular mass, Mtot≈1.3×109M&sun;) outside the central 1 kpc disk. Molecular streamers are detected in and below M 82's disk out to distances from the center of ˜1.7 kpc. Some of these streamers are well correlated with optical absorption features; they form the basis of some of the prominent tidal HI features around M 82. This provides evidence that the molecular gas within M 82's optical disk is disrupted by the interaction with M 81. Molecular gas is found in M 82's outflow/halo, reaching distances up to 1.2 kpc below the plane; CO line-splitting has been detected for the first time in the outflow. The maximum outflow velocity is ˜ 230 km s-1; we derive an opening angle of ˜55° for the molecular outflow cone. The total amount of gas in the outflow is >3×108 M&sun; and its kinetic energy is of order 1055 erg, about one percent of the estimated total mechanical energy input of M 82's starburst. Our study implies that extreme starburst environments can move significant amounts of molecular gas in to a galaxy's halo (and even to the intergalactic medium).

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