Feeding the fire: Tracing the mass-loading of 10^7 K galactic outflows
  with O VI absorption
  Galactic outflows regulate the amount of gas galaxies convert into stars.
However, it is difficult to measure the mass outflows remove because they span
a large range of temperatures and phases. Here, we study the rest-frame
ultraviolet spectrum of a lensed galaxy at z~2.9 with prominent interstellar
absorption lines from O I, tracing neutral gas, up to O VI, tracing
transitional phase gas. The O VI profile mimics weak low-ionization profiles at
low velocities, and strong saturated profiles at high velocities. These trends
indicate that O VI gas is co-spatial with the low-ionization gas. Further, at
velocities blueward of -200 km/s the column density of the low-ionization
outflow rapidly drops while the O VI column density rises, suggesting that O VI
is created as the low-ionization gas is destroyed. Photoionization models do
not reproduce the observed O VI, but adequately match the low-ionization gas,
indicating that the phases have different formation mechanisms. Photoionized
outflows are more massive than O VI outflows for most of the observed
velocities, although the O VI mass outflow rate exceeds the photoionized
outflow at velocities above the galaxy's escape velocity. Therefore, most gas
capable of escaping the galaxy is in a hot outflow phase. We suggest that the O
VI absorption is a temporary by-product of conduction transferring mass from
the photoionized phase to an unobserved hot wind, and discuss how this
mass-loading impacts the observed circum-galactic medium.
