Physics and Phenomenology of Galactic Winds

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The stars, like our Sun, generate winds of very hot particles that fill the space between stars. Particle winds are also created in clouds of gas where stars form, and especially strong winds occur during supernovae explosions. The investigators will study the physics, evolution, dynamics, and implications of the different sources of galactic winds in several types of galaxies, from star-forming dwarf galaxies to ultra-luminous starburst galaxies. A significant part of the proposed work will be carried out by graduate students, providing training in cutting-edge research. Results will be broadly disseminated by publication in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and by the press. In addition, the investigators propose an education and outreach component that targets senior citizens, an important and growing, yet traditionally significantly under-served group. The investigators will provide deliverables that will broadly impact the scientific community. They will directly evaluate the importance of new physics for the structure of galactic winds, an important guide to the essential physics for current and future multi-dimensional simulations. They will isolate important physical effects in time-dependent simulations that may provide the key pieces to allow modelers to understand their calculations. Finally, they will provide a tool for connecting the underlying theory to observations and vice versa. Overall, this proposal serves to community in two ways --- first, by exploring newly opened up discovery spaces and second, by mapping these spaces for those who can use the results immediately. The investigators' goal is to simultaneously address the physics and phenomenology of galactic winds, connecting theory and observation. They will do both broad sweeps through parameter space, and focused studies of individual systems. Among the projects they will pursue, they will (1) calculate the ram pressure acceleration of cool clouds by hot outflows, (2) understand the ability of hot metal-rich winds to cool radiatively, producing cool clouds in situ, (3) assess the interaction of a hot flow, potentially loaded with cool clouds, with the surrounding circumgalactic medium in an effort to explain recent observations, (4) calculate the acceleration of clouds by momentum deposition, including a comparison of theory and data for individual galaxies and large surveys, (5) understand the interaction of momentum deposition in turbulence, and (6) calculate the dynamics of two-fluid dust+gas radiation hydrodynamical flows.