Discovery of giant bubbles in the hot gaseous halo of the massive disk galaxy NGC 6286

Abstract: Based on archival Chandra X-ray observation, optical integral-field spectroscopic data and radio interferometric data, we report the discovery of a pair of giant bubbles (with a projected radius ~ 5 kpc) of ionized gas emerging from a highly inclined starburst galaxy NGC 6286, which is undergoing strong tidal interactions with its close neighbor NGC 6285. The bubbles are manifested by extraplanar soft X-ray emission with an X-shaped morphology, which is tightly co-spatial with $\rm H\alpha$ line emission and partially coincident with radio continuum. Low surface brightness diffuse X-ray emission can be traced out to ~ 90 kpc from the galactic center, revealing the presence of an extended hot gaseous halo. X-ray spectral analysis of the bubbles yields a gas temperature of $0.70^{+0.16}_{-0.18}$ keV, a relatively high value among known galactic-scale bubbles in the local universe. An average energy injection rate of ~ $10^{43}$ erg $\rm s^{-1}$ is required to inflate the bubbles within an estimated dynamical age of ~ 6.4 Myr. The multi-wavelength properties of the bubbles can be understood with the conventional superwind scenario, in which disk/halo gas is swept up into an expanding, cooling shell by a hot tenuous wind. The current starburst in NGC 6286 is energetically sufficient to launch the superwind, although we cannot rule out the possibility of a more violent AGN in the recent past as the driving source. Future high-resolution spectroscopic observations will help to shed light on the origin of the superwind and its role as an important galactic feedback process.