Power-law Emission-line Wings and Radiation-Driven Superwinds in Local Lyman Continuum Emitters

TL;DR

The paper addresses how LyC radiation escapes metal-poor starbursts by probing the driving mechanisms behind broad emission-line wings. Using high-resolution spectroscopy of 26 local LyC-emitters, it distinguishes radiation-driven winds from SN-driven outflows through the morphology of the [O III] λ5007 wings, identifying a dual-mode framework for LyC escape. It finds that many wings follow a power-law form with slopes $α$ in the range $-3.5$ to $-1.6$, while a subset are Gaussian with $σ_{ m BW} \\sim 300\rm\ km\ s^{-1}$, with Gaussian wings linked to low $O_{32}$ and higher metallicity. The results show that wind parameters correlate more with UV luminosity than the optically thick covering fraction (consistent with a “picket-fence” radiative transfer), and that extinction and dense gas are centrally concentrated relative to wind emission. Overall, power-law wings emerge as tracers of LyC-driven winds and LyC escape in metal-poor starbursts, supporting a dual-feedback paradigm for LyC leakage.

Abstract

We investigate broad emission-line wings, reaching $\leq 800\rm~km~s^{-1}$, observed in 26 galaxies with Lyman continuum (LyC) observations, primarily from the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS). Using Magellan/MIKE, VLT/X-shooter, and WHT/ISIS high-resolution spectroscopy, we show that this fast gas appears to probe the dominant feedback mechanisms linked to LyC escape. We find that in 14 galaxies, the wings are best fit with power laws of slope $α\sim -3.5 \text{ to } -1.6$, with four others best fit by Gaussians of width $σ_{\rm BW} \sim 300~\rm km~s^{-1}$; the remaining eight show ambiguous wing morphologies. Gaussian wings are found only at low $O_{32}$ = $[\rm O~III]\lambda5007/[O~II]\lambda3726,3729$ and high metallicity, while power-law wings span the full range of these parameters. The general evidence suggests a dual-mode paradigm for LyC escape: radiation-driven superwinds traced by power-law wings and supernova-driven feedback traced by Gaussian wings. For the former, the $<3$ Myr-old, pre-supernova stellar population correlates with more luminous, faster winds. The data also show that radiation-driven wind parameters like wind luminosity and power-law slope $α$ depend on the UV luminosity more than the optically thick covering fraction, consistent with ``picket-fence" radiative transfer. Observed $α$ values flatten with both escaping LyC luminosity and higher extinction, while still preserving the anticorrelation between these two quantities. Additionally, the differential between red and blue slopes implies that extinction and dense gas are centrally concentrated relative to the wind emission. Overall, our results show that power-law emission-line wings probe LyC-driven winds and LyC escape in metal-poor starbursts.