Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Apr
29
2026
Apr
29
2026
Description
Kinematically Coherent, Turbulence-Regulated Galactic Winds: New Constraints from RT Modeling of Lyα and UV Metal Lines
Galactic winds driven by stellar feedback play a central role in regulating galaxy evolution, yet their physical structure and energetics remain incompletely understood. In this talk, I will present new constraints on the kinematics and energy budget of cool–to–warm galactic winds in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) based on joint modeling of Lyα and multiple ultraviolet metal lines in 50 nearby star-forming galaxies observed with HST/COS. Using PEACOCK, a three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer framework for multiphase outflows, we find that macroscopic turbulent velocities frequently exceed the bulk outflow velocity, indicating that turbulence is a necessary component of wind kinematics. The inferred kinematics show strong coherence among low- and high-ionization metal lines in both bulk and turbulent velocities, consistent with a dynamically coupled multiphase wind, while neutral hydrogen shows weaker correspondence with metals, suggesting incomplete mixing and a distinct kinematic structure. Including turbulence further strengthens CGM–galaxy scaling relations and favors an energy-driven feedback regime: the total kinetic energy flux of the cool–to–warm CGM correlates tightly with the mechanical energy injection rate from star formation. Taken together, these results support a turbulence-regulated picture of galactic winds, in which a substantial fraction of feedback energy is stored in turbulent motions within a multiphase CGM.
Other Events in This Series
Jan
15
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
No meeting
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Jan
22
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
No talk scheduled
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Jan
29
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Two talks by Astronomy Department graduate students
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): Nathanael Burns-Watson - The University of Texas at Austin and Carlos Jurado - The University of Texas at Austin
Feb
5
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
No talk scheduled
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Feb
12
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Special Seminar: galactic.ai — The New Frontier in Cosmology and Astrophysics
Special Seminar by ChangHoon Hahn of Princeton University
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): ChangHoon Hahn - Princeton University
Feb
19
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Special Seminar: Beyond the Observable - A Machine Learning perspective on modern Cosmology
Special Seminar by Carolina Cuesta of MIT and Harvard University
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): Carolina Cuesta - MIT and Harvard University
Feb
26
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
No talk scheduled
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Mar
5
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
No talk scheduled
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Mar
12
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Two talks by Astronomy Department graduate students
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): Erica Sawczynec - The University of Texas at Austin and James Mang - The University of Texas at Austin
Mar
26
2025
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Stars, Planets, and ISM Seminar
Two talks by UT Astronomy graduate students
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): Malia Kao - The University of Texas at Austin and Shelby Courreges - The University of Texas at Austin