JWST Observations of Starbursts: The Motion of Dust—PAH Kinematics of M82 and NGC 253 with JWST/MIRI Spectroscopy

@article{donnan2026jwst,
  title = {{JWST Observations of Starbursts: The Motion of Dust—PAH Kinematics of M82 and NGC 253 with JWST/MIRI Spectroscopy}},
  author = {Fergus R. Donnan and Karin Sandstrom and Alberto D. Bolatto and Bruce T. Draine and Sara E. Duval and Ralf S. Klessen and Elisabeth A. C. Mills and Helena M. Richie and J. D. T. Smith and Sylvain Veilleux and Patricia A. Arens and Leindert A. Boogaard and Serena A. Cronin and Daniel A. Dale and Kimberly L. Emig and Rodrigo Herrera-Camus and Thomas S.-Y. Lai and Sebastian Lopez and Laura Lenkić and Rebecca C. Levy and Divakara Mayya and David S. Meier and Kaitlyn E. Sheriff and Utsav Siwakoti and Evan Skillman and Elizabeth Tarantino and Yu-Hsuan Teng and Vicente Villanueva and Fabian Walter and Paul P. van der Werf},
  journal = {The Astronomical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-3881/aeaa38},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aeaa38},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - JWST Observations of Starbursts: The Motion of Dust—PAH Kinematics of M82 and NGC 253 with JWST/MIRI Spectroscopy
AU  - Fergus R. Donnan
AU  - Karin Sandstrom
AU  - Alberto D. Bolatto
AU  - Bruce T. Draine
AU  - Sara E. Duval
AU  - Ralf S. Klessen
AU  - Elisabeth A. C. Mills
AU  - Helena M. Richie
AU  - J. D. T. Smith
AU  - Sylvain Veilleux
AU  - Patricia A. Arens
AU  - Leindert A. Boogaard
AU  - Serena A. Cronin
AU  - Daniel A. Dale
AU  - Kimberly L. Emig
AU  - Rodrigo Herrera-Camus
AU  - Thomas S.-Y. Lai
AU  - Sebastian Lopez
AU  - Laura Lenkić
AU  - Rebecca C. Levy
AU  - Divakara Mayya
AU  - David S. Meier
AU  - Kaitlyn E. Sheriff
AU  - Utsav Siwakoti
AU  - Evan Skillman
AU  - Elizabeth Tarantino
AU  - Yu-Hsuan Teng
AU  - Vicente Villanueva
AU  - Fabian Walter
AU  - Paul P. van der Werf
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
JO  - The Astronomical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-3881/aeaa38
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aeaa38
AB  - We present an analysis of dust kinematics in the local starburst galaxies M82 (NGC 3034) and NGC 253 using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features observed with JWST/MIRI spectroscopy. We are able to produce high-quality velocity maps of the 5.2, 6.2, and 11.3 μ m PAH features, as well as numerous lines of molecular gas via H ₂ rotational transitions and ionized gas from [Ne ii ] and H recombination lines. Given the field of view and inclination, we trace a rotating disk in M82 where we observe a steep rise in the velocities followed by flattening, typical of galaxy rotation curves. In NGC 253, however, the 6.2 and 11.3 μ m PAH features trace the launching region of the outflow, firmly within the starburst region. We find the ionized gas also shows outflow contributions in NGC 253 while the warm molecular gas is dominated by rotation. Additionally, the molecular gas outflow velocities are lower than the ionized gas, with the 11.3 μ m PAH feature consistent with the ionized gas rather than the molecular gas. We therefore suggest that PAHs are more closely associated with the ionized gas rather than the molecular at the base of the galaxy outflow, whereas larger-scale imaging shows comparable morphology between PAHs and H I . The 6.2 μ m PAH feature has an even higher outflow velocity for both galaxies, possibly suggesting preferential ionization of the PAHs within the faster-moving hot phase of the base of the outflow.
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
ER  -