Supernova outflows in galaxy formation

We investigate the generation of galactic outflows by supernova feedback in the context of SPH cosmological simulations. We use a modified version of the code GADGET-2 which includes chemical enrichment and energy feedback by Supernova. We find that energy feedback plays a fundamental role in the evolution of galaxies, heating up the cold material in the centre of the haloes and triggering outflows which efficiently transport gas from the centre to the outskirts of galaxies. The impact of feedback is found to depend on the virial mass of the system with smaller systems, such as dwarf galaxies, being more strongly affected. The outflows help to establish a self-regulated star formation process, and to transport a significant amount of metals into the haloes and even out of the systems. According to our results, energy feedback by supernovae could be the mechanism responsible for the chemical enrichment of the intergalactic medium.