Feedback-driven winds from star formation or active galactic nuclei might be a relevant channel for the abrupt quenching of star formation in massive galaxies. However, both observations and simulations support the idea that these processes are non-conflictingly co-evolving and self-regulating. Furthermore, evidence of disruptive events that are capable of fast quenching is rare, and constraints on their statistical prevalence are lacking. Here we present a massive starburst galaxy at redshift z=1.4, which is ejecting ~46% of its molecular gas mass at a startling rate of >10,000 solar masses per year. A broad component that is red-shifted from the galaxy emission is detected in four (low and high J) CO and [C I] transitions and in the ionized phase, which ensures a robust estimate of the expelled gas mass. The implied statistics suggest that similar events are potentially a major star-formation quenching channel. However, our observations provide compelling evidence that this is not a feedback-driven wind, but rather material from a merger that has been probably tidally ejected. This finding challenges some literature studies in which the role of feedback-driven winds might be overstated.
It may interest you
-
An international team of scientists, with participation by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has discovered a very large, but thin, stream of stars in the Coma cluster of galaxies. This is the largest stream of stars detected until now, and the first to be found in a cluster of galaxies. This finding, which is published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, was made using observations taken with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Garafía, La Palma, Canary Islands). The Coma Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies
Advertised on -
The Director of the Starlight Foundation, and researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Antonia M. Varela Pérez has contributed to a monographic edition of the prestigious journal Science dedicated to light pollution and its consequences. The starry sky has been a source of inspiration throughout human history. Astronomy has been a common element in all cultures and civilizations, and has been used to establish calendars, to navigate and discover new lands, and to drive many scientific and technical advances. The article “The increasing effects of light pollution on professional
Advertised on -
Dark matter is an invisible substance that makes up more than eighty percent of the matter content of the universe. We know of its existence due to its gravitational influence, being a key ingredient to understand everything from the large-scale evolution of the universe to the formation of galaxies like the Milky Way, of which we are part of. However, very little is known about its nature, which constitutes one of the greatest unsolved problems in contemporary physics. The fuzzy dark matter model has recently been studied as a promising candidate. In this model, it is postulated that dark
Advertised on