The M82 `cap is a gas cloud at a projected radius of 11.6 kpc along the minor axis of this well known superwind source. The cap has been detected in optical line emission and X-ray emission and therefore provides an important probe of the wind energe
tics. In order to investigate the ionization source of the cap, we observed it with the Kyoto3DII Fabry-Perot instrument mounted on the Subaru Telescope. Deep continuum, Ha, [NII]6583/Ha, and [SII]6716,6731/Ha maps were obtained with sub-arcsecond resolution. The superior spatial resolution compared to earlier studies reveals a number of bright Ha emitting clouds within the cap. The emission line widths (< 100 km s^-1 FWHM) and line ratios in the newly identified knots are most reasonably explained by slow to moderate shocks velocities (v_shock = 40--80 km s^-1) driven by a fast wind into dense clouds. The momentum input from the M82 nuclear starburst region is enough to produce the observed shock. Consequently, earlier claims of photoionization by the central starburst are ruled out because they cannot explain the observed fluxes of the densest knots unless the UV escape fraction is very high (f_esc > 60%), i.e., an order of magnitude higher than observed in dwarf galaxies to date. Using these results, we discuss the evolutionary history of the M82 superwind. Future UV/X-ray surveys are expected to confirm that the temperature of the gas is consistent with our moderate shock model.
We have observed the central region of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253 with the Kyoto Tridimensional Spectrograph II (Kyoto3DII) Fabry-Perot mode in order to investigate the properties of its galactic wind. Since this galaxy has a large inclinati
on, it is easy to observe its galactic wind. We produced the Ha, [N II]6583, and [S II]6716,6731 images, as well as those line ratio maps. The [N II]/Ha ratio in the galactic wind region is larger than those in H II regions in the galactic disk. The [N II]/Ha ratio in the southeastern filament, a part of the galactic wind, is the largest and reaches about 1.5. These large [N II]/Ha ratios are explained by shock ionization/excitation. Using the [S II]/Ha ratio map, we spatially separate the galactic wind region from the starburst region. The kinetic energy of the galactic wind can be sufficiently supplied by supernovae in a starburst region in the galactic center. The shape of the galactic wind and the line ratio maps are non-axisymmetric about the galactic minor axis, which is also seen in M82. In the [N II]6583/[S II]6716,6731 map, the positions with large ratios coincide with the positions of star clusters found in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observation. This means that intense star formation causes strong nitrogen enrichment in these regions. Our unique data of the line ratio maps including [S II] lines have demonstrated their effectiveness for clearly distinguishing between shocked gas regions and starburst regions, determining the extent of galactic wind and its mass and kinetic energy, and discovering regions with enhanced nitrogen abundance.
