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Published August 1, 2025 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

Shockingly Effective: Cluster Winds as Engines of Feedback in Starburst Galaxy VV 114

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of California, Irvine
  • 2. ROR icon Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
  • 3. ROR icon Carnegie Observatories
  • 4. ROR icon University of Arizona
  • 5. ROR icon University of Toledo
  • 6. ROR icon European University Cyprus
  • 7. ROR icon National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • 8. ROR icon University of Virginia
  • 9. ROR icon University of Florida
  • 10. ROR icon W.M. Keck Observatory
  • 11. ROR icon University of California, Riverside
  • 12. ROR icon University of Crete
  • 13. ROR icon Australian National University
  • 14. ROR icon Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics
  • 15. ROR icon Hiroshima University
  • 16. ROR icon Space Telescope Science Institute
  • 17. ROR icon University of California, Los Angeles
  • 18. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 19. ROR icon University of California, Santa Cruz
  • 20. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 21. ROR icon European Southern Observatory
  • 22. ROR icon Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array
  • 23. ROR icon Occidental College

Abstract

We present high-resolution Keck Cosmic Web Imager and MUSE integral field unit spectroscopy of VV 114, a local IR-luminous merger undergoing a vigorous starburst and showing evidence of galactic-scale feedback. The high-resolution data allow for spectral deblending of the optical emission lines and reveal a broad emission line component (σbroad ∼ 100–300 km s−1) with line ratios and kinematics consistent with a mixture of ionization by stars and radiative shocks. The shock fraction (percentage of ionization due to shocks) in the high-velocity gas is anticorrelated with the projected surface number density of resolved star clusters, and we find that the radial density profiles around clusters are fit well by models of adiabatically expanding cluster winds driven by massive stellar winds and supernovae (SNe). The total kinetic power estimated from the cluster wind models matches the wind + SN mechanical energy deposition rate estimated from the soft-band X-ray luminosity, indicating that at least 70% of the shock luminosity in the galaxy is driven by the star clusters. Hubble Space Telescope narrowband near-IR imaging reveals embedded shocks in the dust-buried IR nucleus of VV 114E. Most of the shocked gas is blueshifted with respect to the quiescent medium, and there is a close spatial correspondence between the shock map and the Chandra soft-band X-ray image, implying the presence of a galactic superwind. The energy budget of the superwind is in close agreement with the total kinetic power of the cluster winds, confirming the superwind is driven by the starburst.

Copyright and License

© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

Acknowledgement

We thank the anonymous referee for their thoughtful feedback during the review process. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. This research is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program HST-GO-17285.

Research at UC Irvine has been supported primarily by NSF AAG grant #2408820. V.U. further acknowledges partial support from NASA ADSPS grant #80NSSC25K7477. Support for program JWST-GO-01717 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127. T.G. acknowledges support from ARC Discovery Project DP210101945. M.B. thanks the financial support from the IAU-Gruber foundation fellowship. M.S.G. acknowledges that this research project was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the “2nd Call for HFRI Research Projects to support Faculty Members & Researchers” (Project Number: 03382). A.M.M. acknowledges support from the NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) grant No. 80NSSC23K0750, and from NSF AAG grant #2009416 and NSF CAREER grant #2239807.

Facilities

Keck:II - KECK II Telescope, VLT:Yepun

Files

10.3847_1538-4357_ade38e.pdf

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Additional details

Related works

Is new version of
Discussion Paper: arXiv:2506.16624 (arXiv)

Funding

W. M. Keck Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAS 5-26555
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
HST-GO-17285
National Science Foundation
2408820
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC25K7477
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
JWST-GO-01717
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAS 5-03127
Australian Research Council
DP210101945
Union astronomique internationale
Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation
03382
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC23K0750
National Science Foundation
2009416
National Science Foundation
2239807

Dates

Accepted
2025-06-09
Available
2025-07-28
Published

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Astronomy Department, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA)
Publication Status
Published