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1. Mapping Physical Parameters in Orion KL at High Spatial Resolution

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac3132  

   Wilkins, Olivia H. ; Carroll, P. Brandon ; Blake, Geoffrey A. ( January 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   The Orion Kleinmann-Low nebula (Orion KL) is notoriously complex and exhibits a range of physical and chemical components. We conducted high-angular-resolution (subarcsecond) observations of¹³CH₃OHν= 0 (∼0.″3 and ∼0.″7) and CH₃CNν₈= 1 (∼0.″2 and ∼0.″9) line emission with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to investigate Orion KL’s structure on small spatial scales (≤350 au). Gas kinematics, excitation temperatures, and column densities were derived from the molecular emission via a pixel-by-pixel spectral line fitting of the image cubes, enabling us to examine the small-scale variation of these parameters. Subregions of the Hot Core have a higher excitation temperature in a 0.″2 beam than in a 0.″9 beam, indicative of possible internal sources of heating. Furthermore, the velocity field includes a bipolar ∼7–8 km s⁻¹feature with a southeast–northwest orientation against the surrounding ∼4–5 km s⁻¹velocity field, which may be due to an outflow. We also find evidence of a possible source of internal heating toward the Northwest Clump, since the excitation temperature there is higher in a smaller beam versus a larger beam. Finally, the region southwest of the Hot Core (Hot Core-SW) presents itself as a particularly heterogeneous region bridging the Hot Core and Compact Ridge. Additional studies to identify the (hidden) sources of luminosity and heating within Orion KL are necessary to better understand the nebula and its chemistry.

    

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2. A ∼15 kpc outflow cone piercing through the halo of the blue compact metal-poor galaxy SBS 0335–052E

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244930  

   Herenz, E. C. ; Inoue, J. ; Salas, H. ; Koenigs, B. ; Moya-Sierralta, C. ; Cannon, J. M. ; Hayes, M. ; Papaderos, P. ; Östlin, G. ; Bik, A. ; et al ( February 2023 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. Outflows from low-mass star-forming galaxies are a fundamental ingredient for models of galaxy evolution and cosmology. Despite seemingly favourable conditions for outflow formation in compact starbursting galaxies, convincing observational evidence for kiloparsec-scale outflows in such systems is scarce. Aims. The onset of kiloparsec-scale ionised filaments in the halo of the metal-poor compact dwarf SBS 0335−052E was previously not linked to an outflow. In this paper we investigate whether these filaments provide evidence for an outflow. Methods. We obtained new VLT/MUSE WFM and deep NRAO/VLA B-configuration 21 cm data of the galaxy. The MUSE data provide morphology, kinematics, and emission line ratios of H β /H α and [O  III ] λ 5007/H α of the low surface-brightness filaments, while the VLA data deliver morphology and kinematics of the neutral gas in and around the system. Both datasets are used in concert for comparisons between the ionised and the neutral phase. Results. We report the prolongation of a lacy filamentary ionised structure up to a projected distance of 16 kpc at SB H α  = 1.5 × 10 −18 erg s cm −2 arcsec −2 . The filaments exhibit unusual low H α /H β  ≈ 2.4 and low [O  III ]/H α  ∼ 0.4 − 0.6 typical of diffuse ionised gas. They are spectrally narrow (∼20 km s −1 ) and exhibit no velocity sub-structure. The filaments extend outwards from the elongated H  I halo. On small scales, the N HI peak is offset from the main star-forming sites. The morphology and kinematics of H  I and H  II reveal how star-formation-driven feedback interacts differently with the ionised and the neutral phase. Conclusions. We reason that the filaments are a large-scale manifestation of star-formation- driven feedback, namely limb-brightened edges of a giant outflow cone that protrudes through the halo of this gas-rich system. A simple toy model of such a conical structure is found to be commensurable with the observations. 

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3. Kinematics, Structure, and Mass Outflow Rates of Extreme Starburst Galactic Outflows

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acc660  

   Perrotta, Serena ; Coil, Alison L. ; Rupke, David S. N. ; Tremonti, Christy A. ; Davis, Julie D. ; Diamond-Stanic, Aleksandar M. ; Geach, James E. ; Hickox, Ryan C. ; Moustakas, John ; Rudnick, Gregory H. ; et al ( May 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present results on the properties of extreme gas outflows in massive (M_*∼ 10¹¹M_⊙), compact, starburst (star formation rate, SFR∼ 200M_⊙yr⁻¹) galaxies atz= 0.4–0.7 with very high star formation surface densities (Σ_SFR∼ 2000M_⊙yr⁻¹kpc⁻²). Using optical Keck/HIRES spectroscopy of 14 HizEA starburst galaxies, we identify outflows with maximum velocities of 820–2860 km s⁻¹. High-resolution spectroscopy allows us to measure precise column densities and covering fractions as a function of outflow velocity and characterize the kinematics and structure of the cool gas outflow phase (T∼ 10⁴K). We find substantial variation in the absorption profiles, which likely reflects the complex morphology of inhomogeneously distributed, clumpy gas and the intricacy of the turbulent mixing layers between the cold and hot outflow phases. There is not a straightforward correlation between the bursts in the galaxies’ star formation histories and their wind absorption line profiles, as might naively be expected for starburst-driven winds. The lack of strong Mgiiabsorption at the systemic velocity is likely an orientation effect, where the observations are down the axis of a blowout. We infer high mass outflow rates of ∼50–2200M_⊙yr⁻¹, assuming a fiducial outflow size of 5 kpc, and mass loading factors ofη∼ 5 for most of the sample. While these values have high uncertainties, they suggest that starburst galaxies are capable of ejecting very large amounts of cool gas that will substantially impact their future evolution.

    

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4. SOFIA and ALMA Investigate Magnetic Fields and Gas Structures in Massive Star Formation: The Case of the Masquerading Monster in BYF 73

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acac27  

   Barnes, Peter J. ; Ryder, Stuart D. ; Novak, Giles ; Crutcher, Richard M. ; Fissel, Laura M. ; Pitts, Rebecca L. ; Schap III, William J. ( March 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) + Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continuum and spectral-line polarization data on the massive molecular cloud BYF 73, revealing important details about the magnetic field morphology, gas structures, and energetics in this unusual massive star formation laboratory. The 154μm HAWC+ polarization map finds a highly organized magnetic field in the densest, inner 0.55 × 0.40 pc portion of the cloud, compared to an unremarkable morphology in the cloud’s outer layers. The 3 mm continuum ALMA polarization data reveal several more structures in the inner domain, including a parsec-long, ∼500M_⊙“Streamer” around the central massive protostellar object MIR 2, with magnetic fields mostly parallel to the east–west Streamer but oriented north–south across MIR 2. The magnetic field orientation changes from mostly parallel to the column density structures to mostly perpendicular, at thresholdsN_crit= 6.6 × 10²⁶m⁻²,n_crit= 2.5 × 10¹¹m⁻³, andB_crit= 42 ± 7 nT. ALMA also mapped Goldreich–Kylafis polarization in¹²CO across the cloud, which traces, in both total intensity and polarized flux, a powerful bipolar outflow from MIR 2 that interacts strongly with the Streamer. The magnetic field is also strongly aligned along the outflow direction; energetically, it may dominate the outflow near MIR 2, comprising rare evidence for a magnetocentrifugal origin to such outflows. A portion of the Streamer may be in Keplerian rotation around MIR 2, implying a gravitating mass 1350 ± 50M_⊙for the protostar+disk+envelope; alternatively, these kinematics can be explained by gas in free-fall toward a 950 ± 35M_⊙object. The high accretion rate onto MIR 2 apparently occurs through the Streamer/disk, and could account for ∼33% of MIR 2's total luminosity via gravitational energy release.

    

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5. The Rapidly Evolving Asymptotic Giant Branch Star, V Hya: ALMA Finds a Multiring Circus with High-velocity Outflows

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac568a  

   Sahai, R. ; Huang, P-S. ; Scibelli, S. ; Morris, M. R. ; Hinkle, K. ; Lee, C-F. ( April 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We have observed the mass-losing carbon star V Hya that is apparently transitioning from an asymptotic giant branch star to a bipolar planetary nebula, at an unprecedented angular resolution of ∼0.″4–0.″6 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Our¹³CO and¹²CO (J= 3–2 andJ= 2–1) images have led to the discovery of a remarkable set of six expanding rings within a flared, warped disk structure undergoing dynamical expansion (DUDE) that lies in the system’s equatorial plane. We also find, for the first time, several bipolar, high-velocity outflows, some of which have parabolic morphologies, implying wide-opening angles, while one (found previously) is clumpy and highly collimated. The latter is likely associated with the high-velocity bullet-like ejections of ionized gas from V Hya; a possible molecular counterpart to the oldest of the four bullets can be seen in the¹²CO images. We find a bright, unresolved central source of continuum emission (FWHM size ≲165 au); about 40% of this emission can be produced in a standard radio photosphere, while the remaining 60% is likely due to thermal emission from very large (millimeter-sized) grains, having mass ≳10⁻⁵M_⊙. We have used a radiative transfer model to fit the salient characteristics of the DUDE’s¹³CO and¹²CO emission out to a radius of 8″ (3200 au) with a flared disk of mass 1.7 × 10⁻³M_⊙, whose expansion velocity increases very rapidly with the radius inside a central region of size ∼200 au, and then more slowly outside it, from 9.5 to 11.5 km s⁻¹. The DUDE’s underlying density decreases radially, interspersed with local increases that represent the observationally well-characterized innermost three rings.

    

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