Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | 2021
Stellar feedback in a clumpy galaxy at z ∼ 3.4
Abstract
\n Giant star-forming regions (clumps) are widespread features of galaxies at z ≈ 1−4. Theory predicts that they can play a crucial role in galaxy evolution, if they survive to stellar feedback for >50\xa0Myr. Numerical simulations show that clumps’ survival depends on the stellar feedback recipes that are adopted. Up to date, observational constraints on both clumps’ outflows strength and gas removal time-scale are still uncertain. In this context, we study a line-emitting galaxy at redshift z ≃ 3.4 lensed by the foreground galaxy cluster Abell 2895. Four compact clumps with sizes ≲280\xa0pc and representative of the low-mass end of clumps’ mass distribution (stellar masses ≲2\xa0×\xa0108\u2009M⊙) dominate the galaxy morphology. The clumps are likely forming stars in a starbursting mode and have a young stellar population (∼10\xa0Myr). The properties of the Lyman-α (Lyα) emission and nebular far-ultraviolet absorption lines indicate the presence of ejected material with global outflowing velocities of ∼200–300\xa0km\u2009s−1. Assuming that the detected outflows are the consequence of star formation feedback, we infer an average mass loading factor (η) for the clumps of ∼1.8–2.4 consistent with results obtained from hydrodynamical simulations of clumpy galaxies that assume relatively strong stellar feedback. Assuming no gas inflows (semiclosed box model), the estimates of η suggest that the time-scale over which the outflows expel the molecular gas reservoir (≃7\xa0×\xa0108\u2009M⊙) of the four detected low-mass clumps is ≲50\xa0Myr.