The Starburst-Driven Molecular Wind in NGC 253 and the Suppression of Star Formation

Understand

The under-abundance of very massive galaxies in the universe is frequently attributed to the effect of galactic winds.

• Although ionized galactic winds are readily observable most of the expelled mass is likely in cooler atomic and molecular phases.
• Expanding molecular shells observed in starburst systems such as NGC 253 and M 82 may facilitate the entrainment of molecular gas in the wind.
• While shell properties are well constrained, determining the amount of outflowing gas emerging from such shells and the connection between this gas and the ionized wind requires spatial resolution <100 pc coupled with sensitivity to a wide range of spatial scales, hitherto not available.