Revealing an Energetic Galaxy-Wide Outflow in a z~2 Ultraluminous
  Infrared Galaxy
  Leading models of galaxy formation require large-scale energetic outflows to
regulate the growth of distant galaxies and their central black holes. However,
current observational support for this hypothesis at high redshift is mostly
limited to rare z>2 radio galaxies. Here we present Gemini-North NIFS Intregral
Field Unit (IFU) observations of the [O III]5007 emission from a z~2
ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG; L_IR>10^12 L_sol) with an optically
identified Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). The spatial extent (~4-8 kpc) of the
high velocity and broad [O III] emission are consistent with that found in z>2
radio galaxies, indicating the presence of a large-scale energetic outflow in a
galaxy population potentially orders of magnitude more common than distant
radio galaxies. The low radio luminosity of this system indicates that
radio-bright jets are unlikely to be responsible for driving the outflow.
However, the estimated energy input required to produce the large-scale outflow
signatures (of order ~10^59 ergs over ~30 Myrs) could be delivered by a wind
radiatively driven by the AGN and/or supernovae winds from intense star
formation. The energy injection required to drive the outflow is comparable to
the estimated binding energy of the galaxy spheroid, suggesting that it can
have a significant impact on the evolution of the galaxy. We argue that the
outflow observed in this system is likely to be comparatively typical of the
high-redshift ULIRG population and discuss the implications of these
observations for galaxy formation models.
