Evidence for Cosmic-Ray Escape in the Small Magellanic Cloud using Fermi Gamma-rays

Understand

Galaxy formation simulations demonstrate that cosmic-ray (CR) feedback may be important in the launching of galactic-scale winds.

• CR protons dominate the bulk of the CR population, yet most observational constraints of CR feedback come from synchrotron emission of CR electrons.
• In this paper, we present an analysis of 105 months of Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), with the aim of exploring CR feedback and transport in an external galaxy.
• We produce maps of the 2-300 GeV emission and detect statistically significant, extended emission along the Bar and the Wing, where active star formation is occurring.