Stacked Gamma-Ray Analysis of Galaxies Hosting Molecular Outflows

Many star-forming galaxies and those hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) show evidence of massive outflows of material in a variety of phases including ionized, neutral atomic, and molecular outflows. Molecular outflows in particular have been the focus of recent interest as they may be responsible for removing gas from the galaxy, thereby suppressing star formation. As the material is ejected from the core of the galaxies, interactions of the outflowing material with the interstellar medium can produce high-energy gamma rays. However, contributions to the gamma-ray emission from the molecular outflows is expected to be below the threshold for LAT detection and has yet to be directly observed. We therefore employ a stacking technique in order to search for this faint gamma-ray emission. In this presentation I will show the results from a stacked analysis of a sample of local galaxies hosting molecular outflows using ~11 years of Fermi-LAT data. I will discuss relations between the gamma-ray emission and the properties of the host galaxies. Studying the gamma-ray emission from molecular outflows can provide a deeper understanding of their driving mechanisms and energetics, as well as their role in galactic feedback.