Observations of Molecular Outflows in Quasars Anna Boehle March 2 nd, 2012

Background merger driven galaxy evolution: – gas rich mergers -> starbursts and AGN activity – star-formation is quenched as gas is expelled – transition from blue to red what drives this negative feedback? – quasar (radiation pressure) – starburst (radiation pressure or winds from SNe)

Previous Observations Outflows seen in ionized gas – this is a small fraction of the total gas in the galaxy – molecular gas must be outflowing in order to quench star-formation Feruglio et al 2010 and Sturm et al 2011: observational evidence of molecular outflows

Feruglio et al 2010 observe CO(1-0) emission line Plateau di Bure Interferometer (PdBI) target: Mrk 231, nearest quasar object wider bandwidth (1 GHz) than previous CO observations!

Observed CO Emission Lines Fit Components: Broad, Narrow, Total Feruglio et al 2010

Spatial Maps Blue Wing -500 km/s -> -700 km/s Red Wing 500 km/s -> 800 km/s Feruglio et al 2010

Point Source Fit Residuals Blue Wing -500 km/s -> -700 km/s Red Wing 500 km/s -> 800 km/s Feruglio et al 2010

Sturm et al 2011 observe FIR spectra with PACS spectrometer on Herschel primary line used: OH 79 μm doublet targets shown here: – 5 ULIRGS with range of SFR and AGN contribution (including Mrk 231) – one starburst template (NGC 253)

OH 79 μm Doublet Sturm et al 2011

From Outflow Velocities to Mass Outflow Rates Rupke et al 20

What drives molecular outflows? v max of outflow versus Star Formation Rate v max of outflow versus AGN Luminosity Sturm et al 2011

What drives molecular outflows? Ṁ/SFR versus SFR Gas depletion time versus AGN luminosity Sturm et al 2011