PHANGS-JWST First Results: A Statistical View on Bubble Evolution in NGC 628 - INSU - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers
Journal Articles The Astrophysical journal letters Year : 2023

PHANGS-JWST First Results: A Statistical View on Bubble Evolution in NGC 628

Elizabeth J. Watkins
  • Function : Author
Ashley T. Barnes
  • Function : Author
Kiana Henny
  • Function : Author
Hwihyun Kim
  • Function : Author
Kathryn Kreckel
  • Function : Author
Sharon E. Meidt
  • Function : Author
Ralf S. Klessen
  • Function : Author
Simon C. O. Glover
  • Function : Author
Thomas G. Williams
  • Function : Author
Benjamin W. Keller
  • Function : Author
Adam K. Leroy
  • Function : Author
Erik Rosolowsky
  • Function : Author
Janice C. Lee
  • Function : Author
Gagandeep S. Anand
  • Function : Author
Francesco Belfiore
  • Function : Author
Frank Bigiel
  • Function : Author
Guillermo A. Blanc
  • Function : Author
Médéric Boquien
  • Function : Author
Yixian Cao
  • Function : Author
Rupali Chandar
  • Function : Author
Ness Mayker Chen
  • Function : Author
Mélanie Chevance
  • Function : Author
Enrico Congiu
  • Function : Author
Daniel A. Dale
  • Function : Author
Sinan Deger
  • Function : Author
Oleg V. Egorov
  • Function : Author
Christopher M. Faesi
  • Function : Author
Kathryn Grasha
  • Function : Author
Brent Groves
  • Function : Author
Hamid Hassani
  • Function : Author
Jonathan D. Henshaw
  • Function : Author
Cinthya Herrera
  • Function : Author
Sarah Jeffreson
  • Function : Author
María J. Jiménez-Donaire
  • Function : Author
Eric W. Koch
  • Function : Author
J. M. Diederik Kruijssen
  • Function : Author
Kirsten L. Larson
  • Function : Author
Daizhong Liu
  • Function : Author
Laura A. Lopez
  • Function : Author
Ismael Pessa
  • Function : Author
Miguel Querejeta
  • Function : Author
Toshiki Saito
  • Function : Author
Karin Sandstrom
  • Function : Author
Fabian Scheuermann
  • Function : Author
Eva Schinnerer
  • Function : Author
Mattia C. Sormani
  • Function : Author
Sophia K. Stuber
  • Function : Author
David A. Thilker
  • Function : Author
Antonio Usero
  • Function : Author
Bradley C. Whitmore
  • Function : Author

Abstract

The first JWST observations of nearby galaxies have unveiled a rich population of bubbles that trace the stellar-feedback mechanisms responsible for their creation. Studying these bubbles therefore allows us to chart the interaction between stellar feedback and the interstellar medium, and the larger galactic flows needed to regulate star formation processes globally. We present the first catalog of bubbles in NGC 628, visually identified using Mid-Infrared Instrument F770W Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS)-JWST observations, and use them to statistically evaluate bubble characteristics. We classify 1694 structures as bubbles with radii between 6 and 552 pc. Of these, 31% contain at least one smaller bubble at their edge, indicating that previous generations of star formation have a local impact on where new stars form. On large scales, most bubbles lie near a spiral arm, and their radii increase downstream compared to upstream. Furthermore, bubbles are elongated in a similar direction to the spiral-arm ridgeline. These azimuthal trends demonstrate that star formation is intimately connected to the spiral-arm passage. Finally, the bubble size distribution follows a power law of index p = -2.2 ± 0.1, which is slightly shallower than the theoretical value by 1-3.5σ that did not include bubble mergers. The fraction of bubbles identified within the shells of larger bubbles suggests that bubble merging is a common process. Our analysis therefore allows us to quantify the number of star-forming regions that are influenced by an earlier generation, and the role feedback processes have in setting the global star formation rate. With the full PHANGS-JWST sample, we can do this for more galaxies.
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insu-04198461 , version 1 (07-09-2023)

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Elizabeth J. Watkins, Ashley T. Barnes, Kiana Henny, Hwihyun Kim, Kathryn Kreckel, et al.. PHANGS-JWST First Results: A Statistical View on Bubble Evolution in NGC 628. The Astrophysical journal letters, 2023, 944, ⟨10.3847/2041-8213/aca6e4⟩. ⟨insu-04198461⟩
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