JWST Observations of Starbursts: A Young Bubble in NGC 253’s Central Starburst
15 affiliations
- 1University of Kansas
- 2University of Toledo
- 3University of Maryland
- 4Space Telescope Science Institute
- 5Universität Heidelberg
- 6European Space Agency
- 7University of Wyoming
- 8National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- 9Universidad de Concepción
- 10Millennium Nucleus for Galaxies
- 11California Institute of Technology
- 12The Ohio State University
- 13New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- 14Leiden University
- 15Universidad Diego Portales
Abstract
We present a multiwavelength analysis of a young bubble in the nuclear starburst of NGC 253 using new JWST MIRI–MRS observations together with archival ALMA (100, 350, 690 GHz) and Chandra data. The MIRI maps reveal a prominent bubble-like structure in both ionized and molecular emission lines. The bubble is spatially coincident with one of the least embedded massive young clusters detected with ALMA, suggesting that the cluster is driving the expansion. We measure a radius of ∼11.5 ± 3.4 pc and an expansion velocity of ∼90 ± 44 km s ⁻¹ , implying a dynamical age of ∼0.1 ± 0.1 Myr. Using RADEX modeling of multiple CO transitions, we infer a molecular mass in the range of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10 ⁴ to (2.8 ± 0.8) × 10 ⁵ M ⊙ . We derive a kinetic energy on the order 10 ⁵¹⁻⁵² erg, consistent with mechanical input from Wolf–Rayet stellar winds or supernovae in a ∼10 ⁶ M ⊙ cluster. The existence of a large population of Wolf–Rayet stars or past supernovae is supported by the presence of coincident X-ray emission. Our results provide direct evidence that individual clusters in a nuclear environment can carve out coherent structures on parsec scales and inject significant energy and momentum into the surrounding interstellar medium, which can contribute to the nuclear outflow in NGC 253.
Related
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- The Dance of the Little Red Dots: Spectroscopy of Two Blue Companions at z = 3.9 and 5.5 Reveals Young, Metal-Poor Starbursts Merging with Their LRDs within a Few Hundred Myr
- SQuIGGLE: Radio AGN Found Predominantly in Young, Gas-rich Post-starburst Galaxies at z ~ 0.7
- Cracking open the 'dragon egg'. ALMA 1.3mm observations of a compact, young high-mass core candidate at 30mas resolution
BibTeX
@article{sheriff2026jwst,
title = {{JWST Observations of Starbursts: A Young Bubble in NGC 253’s Central Starburst}},
author = {Kaitlyn E. Sheriff and Elisabeth A. C. Mills and Xinyu Mai and Utsav Siwakoti and Sara E. Duval and Alberto D. Bolatto and Rebecca C. Levy and Jia Wei Teh and Torsten Böker and Serena A. Cronin and Daniel A. Dale and Keaton Donaghue and Kimberly Emig and Simon C. O. Glover and Rodrigo Herrera-Camus and Ralf S. Klessen and Thomas S.-Y. Lai and Ashley E. Lieber and Laura Lenkić and Sebastian Lopez and David S. Meier and Jüergen Ott and J. D. T. Smith and Yu-Hsuan Teng and Paul P. van der Werf and Sylvain Veilleux and Vicente Villanueva and Rachel Cionitti and Joseph Havens and Maleah Rhem and Nathan Shaw and Kai Smith and Hazel Belfiore Wright and Md Abdullah Al Zaman},
journal = {The Astronomical Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3847/1538-3881/aea6ac},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea6ac},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - JWST Observations of Starbursts: A Young Bubble in NGC 253’s Central Starburst
AU - Kaitlyn E. Sheriff
AU - Elisabeth A. C. Mills
AU - Xinyu Mai
AU - Utsav Siwakoti
AU - Sara E. Duval
AU - Alberto D. Bolatto
AU - Rebecca C. Levy
AU - Jia Wei Teh
AU - Torsten Böker
AU - Serena A. Cronin
AU - Daniel A. Dale
AU - Keaton Donaghue
AU - Kimberly Emig
AU - Simon C. O. Glover
AU - Rodrigo Herrera-Camus
AU - Ralf S. Klessen
AU - Thomas S.-Y. Lai
AU - Ashley E. Lieber
AU - Laura Lenkić
AU - Sebastian Lopez
AU - David S. Meier
AU - Jüergen Ott
AU - J. D. T. Smith
AU - Yu-Hsuan Teng
AU - Paul P. van der Werf
AU - Sylvain Veilleux
AU - Vicente Villanueva
AU - Rachel Cionitti
AU - Joseph Havens
AU - Maleah Rhem
AU - Nathan Shaw
AU - Kai Smith
AU - Hazel Belfiore Wright
AU - Md Abdullah Al Zaman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - The Astronomical Journal
DO - 10.3847/1538-3881/aea6ac
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea6ac
AB - We present a multiwavelength analysis of a young bubble in the nuclear starburst of NGC 253 using new JWST MIRI–MRS observations together with archival ALMA (100, 350, 690 GHz) and Chandra data. The MIRI maps reveal a prominent bubble-like structure in both ionized and molecular emission lines. The bubble is spatially coincident with one of the least embedded massive young clusters detected with ALMA, suggesting that the cluster is driving the expansion. We measure a radius of ∼11.5 ± 3.4 pc and an expansion velocity of ∼90 ± 44 km s ⁻¹ , implying a dynamical age of ∼0.1 ± 0.1 Myr. Using RADEX modeling of multiple CO transitions, we infer a molecular mass in the range of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10 ⁴ to (2.8 ± 0.8) × 10 ⁵ M ⊙ . We derive a kinetic energy on the order 10 ⁵¹⁻⁵² erg, consistent with mechanical input from Wolf–Rayet stellar winds or supernovae in a ∼10 ⁶ M ⊙ cluster. The existence of a large population of Wolf–Rayet stars or past supernovae is supported by the presence of coincident X-ray emission. Our results provide direct evidence that individual clusters in a nuclear environment can carve out coherent structures on parsec scales and inject significant energy and momentum into the surrounding interstellar medium, which can contribute to the nuclear outflow in NGC 253.
SN - 0004-6256
SN - 1538-3881
ER -