Title: Galactic Nuclear Feedback Across Scales and Wavebands

Speaker: Professor Qingde Daniel Wang (University of Massachusetts)

Time: 10:00am, June 8, 2026

Location: 5-516, PMO Xianlin Campus

Abstract: Nuclear feedback shapes galaxy evolution by regulating star formation, redistributing metals, and driving multiphase outflows-but the underlying physics is still uncertain because the relevant processes span orders of magnitude in scale and involve hot plasma, cold molecular gas, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields. I will describe recent progress from a comparative observational approach that uses the Milky Way as a resolved laboratory and nearby galaxies as external analogs. In the Galactic center, joint X-ray and radio data reveal filamentary X-ray structures linked to nonthermal radio filaments, suggesting that strongly magnetized environments can produce highly collimated hot plasma features and offering a window onto magnetic energy dissipation in the interstellar medium. Complementary molecular-line observations of the Milky Way’s nuclear outflow show that cold gas is present but largely confined to compact clumps with limited lifetimes, sharpening constraints on entrainment and survival. I will then place these results in the context of nearby galaxies, where large-scale bubbles and radio caps help assess energy budgets and the roles of different pressure components.