# A Test of the Standard Hypothesis for the Origin of the H I Holes in Holmberg II

## 1 Introduction

High spatial and spectral resolution observations of the neutral hydrogen gas in nearby dwarf and Magellanic irregular galaxies have revealed remarkably intricate and complex structures (Puche et al. (1992), hereafter P92; Puche & Westpfahl (1994); Westpfahl & Puche (1994); Staveley-Smith et al. (1997), Kim et al. (1998)). Numerous holes are visible in the H I distributions of these galaxies, surrounded by shells of higher density. In Holmberg II (Ho II, DDO 50) for example, P92 identify 51 holes, and show that in many cases expansion of the gas surrounding the holes is directly detectable. Typical expansion velocities of 4 – 10 km s<sup>-1</sup> have been measured, and holes as large as 1600 pc across are present. This hole–shell morphology for the H I gas appears to be quite common, being present in essentially all of the nearby dwarfs studied to date with adequate spatial and velocity resolution.

Previous studies of the H I distributions in nearby spiral galaxies such as M31 and M33 (Brinks & Bajaja (1986); Deul & den Hartog (1990)) also reveal the presence of H I holes. The origin of these features has generally been attributed to stellar winds and supernova explosions (SNe) from young stellar associations and clusters. This previous work naturally suggested that the holes in Ho II and other dwarfs were caused by a similar process. P92 put forth the hypothesis that the holes in Ho II were due to the combined action of hot stellar winds from O and B stars, plus the SNe shocks from the same massive stars after they exploded at the end of their lifetimes. Based on their measured expansion rates and hole sizes, they determined that as much as $``$2 $`\times `$ 10<sup>53</sup> ergs of kinetic energy, the equivalent of $``$200 SNe, was required to produce the largest holes. The more typical holes require a few to several dozen SNe.

Although the SNe hypothesis for explaining the H I holes in Ho II is an appealing one, it is not without problems. Several of the H I holes are located at large distances from the center of the galaxy, in regions of both low optical surface brightness and low H I column density. At least 18 holes are located beyond the Holmberg radius of the galaxy (the radius where the $`B`$-band surface brightness drops below 26.6 magnitudes/square arcsec), where it is unlikely that large numbers of massive stars could have formed. The H I column densities at these radii are well below the canonical threshold density of 10<sup>21</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> (Kennicutt (1989)), a further indication that star formation is unlikely to occur at these locations in the galaxy. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to investigate further the SNe hypothesis of P92, to determine whether it was possible to corroborate the general picture or, alternatively, to rule it out.

The supernova scenario described in P92 does in fact provide us with a direct observational test. Those authors found that many of the expanding holes in Ho II require the kinetic energy input of $``$10 to as many as 200 SNe each. Such multiple supernova events should only occur in massive clusters or OB associations. Age estimates of the H I holes found in Ho II have been assigned based on their sizes and expansion velocities, and typical ages fall in the range of 10<sup>7</sup> to 10<sup>8</sup> years. Consequently — if the ages are indeed accurate — the upper main sequence stars (late-B, A and F) should still be present in the clusters which produced the SN precursors. During the brief time period since these clusters formed, they will not have dispersed significantly, and should still be observable as blue sources at the centers of the H I holes. Since the surface brightness level associated with the underlying old population of stars in Ho II is fairly low, the upper main sequence population in these clusters should readily stand out. If these young star clusters produced, for example, 50 OB stars which became SNe, then a Salpeter IMF would predict the existence of at least 300 upper main sequence stars which would still be present after 10<sup>8</sup> years. Although this population of stars would not be resolved from the ground (a single main sequence A0 star would have m<sub>V</sub> = 28 and 1 arc second corresponds to 15 parsecs at the distance of Ho II), the total cluster brightness should be m<sub>V</sub> $``$ 22, which would be readily detectable in deep CCD images.

In order to look for the young clusters which would provide evidence for the SN scenario, we decided to carry out a deep, multi-color imaging study of Ho II. Our main goal was to obtain accurate optical magnitudes and colors of all objects appearing in and around the locations of the H I holes found in the VLA maps. The information tabulated in P92 regarding the ages and energy requirements of the holes can be used to calculate the magnitudes and colors of the clusters that should be present in the holes if the SN scenario is correct. Direct comparison of these calculations and our imaging photometry allows us to carry out a sensitive test of the SN scenario.

In the following section, details of the optical observations carried out for this study are discussed, along with the reduction steps executed on the data, and a complete description of the photometric measurements of the H I hole regions and of individual sources located in or around the holes. Section 3 describes calculations of the sizes and brightnesses of the putative clusters made using the information tabulated in P92. The last two sections of the paper consist of a discussion of our findings and their implications for the scenario proposed in P92, followed by a summary and final remarks.

## 2 Observations

### 2.1 Description and Preliminary Reductions

Observations of Ho II were obtained in February 1994 and April 1995 with the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The galaxy was imaged in three broad-band filters ($`BVR`$) during both observing runs, and in narrow-band H$`\alpha `$ during the February 1994 observing run. The detector used was a Tektronix 2048$`\times `$2048 CCD (T2KA), formatted to read out only the central 1280$`\times `$1280 pixels. Each pixel subtended 0.68″ on the sky, resulting in a total field-of-view 14.5′ on a side. Multiple exposures were obtained through each filter, and the telescope was dithered between exposures, to facilitate removal of particle events (cosmic rays) in the images. Total integration times were 2400 s in $`B`$, 1800 s in $`V`$, and 1200 s in $`R`$ for the 1994 data, and 2700 s in $`B`$, 1800 s in $`V`$, and 1800 s in $`R`$ for the 1995 data. Images were taken under clear observing conditions. Photometric standards (Landolt (1983, 1992)) were also observed for use as calibration sources. Observations of additional dwarf galaxies were obtained during these runs (Ho I, K 73, M81dwA, IC 2574, Leo A, Sex A, Gr8, DDO 147); the results for these objects will be presented in a subsequent paper (Salzer et al. (1999)).

Images taken during the 1994 and 1995 observing runs were reduced separately. Preliminary reductions (overscan level subtraction, bias image subtraction, flat field division) were carried out following standard practices. Multiple images taken in sequence through a particular filter were aligned with the middle image in the sequence. Sky subtraction was accomplished by defining a series of rectangular regions surrounding the galaxy, measuring the mean flux level in those regions (after masking stars and cosmic rays), and subtracting that flux level from the image. Multiple images in a given filter were scaled to a common flux level (to preserve photometric integrity) and combined into a single image, using a pixel-rejection algorithm to eliminate cosmic rays. The combined $`B`$, $`V`$, and $`R`$ images were rotated to a north-up, east-left orientation, and their central coordinates were determined using an astrometry routine which measures the positions of Guide Star Catalog (Lasker et al. (1990)) objects appearing in the field.

A total of six standard stars (Landolt (1983, 1992)) were used to calibrate the broad-band images of Ho II from the February 1994 run, while 21 were available for the April 1995 data. In all cases, the photometric zero-point constants were determined with an accuracy of $``$0.01 magnitude, i.e., the nights were photometric.

In order to create the deepest possible $`BVR`$ images with which to do photometry of the hole regions, the images from the two runs were convolved to a common resolution, then scaled, aligned, and combined to create a single, deep image in each filter. The fluxes were scaled to the April 1995 values, since the photometric calibration was deemed to be of slightly higher quality for that run. Photometry was carried out on faint point sources in the resultant images to quantify the detection limit. The 4-$`\sigma `$ limit on the brightness of any point source is $`B`$ $`=`$ 23. The resolution (PSF FWHM) of each of the final combined $`BVR`$ images is 2.4″.

A continuum-subtracted H$`\alpha `$ image was created using the images taken in February 1994 through the on-band ($`\lambda _o`$ = 6569 Å, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$ = 89 Å) and off-band ($`\lambda _o`$ = 6409 Å, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$ = 88 Å) filters. Both narrow-band images were aligned with the composite $`BVR`$ frames and convolved to a common resolution. The off-band image was scaled to the on-band image by comparing the fluxes for several bright stars in the two images, after which it was subtracted from the on-band image to produce the final H$`\alpha `$ frame. Since the narrow-band images were acquired under non-photometric conditions, no flux calibration was attempted.

The high-resolution (natural weight) H I map of Ho II from P92 was used for this study to provide information about the hole locations. To facilitate comparison between the optical and radio data, the format of the H I map was modified to match that of the optical images. Specifically, the original H I map (2″/pixel) was rescaled to the optical image scale (0.68″/pixel). The section of the radio map corresponding to the area covered by the optical frames — i.e., having the same size and central coordinates as the optical images — was then extracted and used to create a new image. Figure A Test of the Standard Hypothesis for the Origin of the H I Holes in Holmberg II shows the high-resolution H I map after it has been scaled and aligned with the optical image, and Figure A Test of the Standard Hypothesis for the Origin of the H I Holes in Holmberg II shows a composite $`BVR`$ image, created by combining the $`B`$, $`V`$, and $`R`$-band data taken in April 1995.

### 2.2 Photometry

#### 2.2.1 H I Holes

To search for evidence of star clusters at the centers of the H I holes, photometric measurements were carried out on the combined $`B`$, $`V`$, and $`R`$ images created by merging the data from the February 1994 and April 1995 observing runs. These combined frames provided us with the deepest images possible for our search.

The photometry was performed using the following strategy. The hole positions given in Table 5 of P92 were used as an initial guess for locations of our synthetic apertures. These apertures were overlaid on the scaled H I image, and the positions adjusted slightly when required to center the apertures within the H I holes. This was necessary since the reported accuracy of the P92 positions was $`\pm `$0.1′. Next, we divided the holes into four categories according to size (again based on the data from P92), and assigned aperture sizes accordingly. The apertures adopted for the four size groups are listed in Table 1. The decision to use variable aperture sizes for the photometry was motivated by several factors: (1) the central positions of the holes become increasingly uncertain for larger holes; (2) there is no a priori reason to expect the putative star clusters to be precisely in the hole centers; (3) the larger holes tend to be older so that diffusion would tend to increase the size of the clusters in these holes. The apertures used ensure that we did not miss the clusters.

Because substantial galaxian background is present in many hole locations, we measured the flux in both a circular aperture corresponding to the hole location and in a concentric annular ring surrounding the aperture. This allows us to compare the fluxes and colors in the two regions. The area of each annular region was chosen to be approximately equal to that of the corresponding circular aperture to ensure comparable signal-to-noise for the two measurements. The test for the presence of a star cluster within the H I holes then involves comparing the fluxes within each aperture/annulus pair to look for an excess of flux (expected to be blue in color) coming from the central circular aperture.

In several instances, bright foreground stars were located inside the aperture or annular regions we had marked for photometry. In such cases we either adjusted the positions of the hole centers slightly, if possible, to avoid contamination from these objects, or excluded those holes from the sample. Photometry was successfully executed on 44 of the 51 hole regions identified in P92. The locations of the apertures and annuli are shown on the radio map (Figure A Test of the Standard Hypothesis for the Origin of the H I Holes in Holmberg II) and on the composite $`BVR`$ optical image (Figures A Test of the Standard Hypothesis for the Origin of the H I Holes in Holmberg II). Results from photometry of the aperture/annular regions are given in Table 2. The equatorial coordinates of our aperture centers are given for each hole, along with the aperture (inner diameter) and annular (outer diameter) sizes in arc seconds, plus the $`B`$ band magnitude, $`B`$$``$$`V`$ and $`B`$$``$$`R`$ colors, and average $`B`$-band surface brightness of the integrated light within both the aperture and annulus. Throughout this paper we use 1950 coordinates, for consistency with P92. Note that the background-subtracted flux measured in the annulus of hole #15, as well as for both the aperture and annulus of hole #27, was slightly negative, resulting in indeterminate magnitudes and colors. These two holes contain no measurable light from either foreground objects or from Ho II itself.

#### 2.2.2 Point Sources in the HI Hole Regions

A number of the holes in Ho II had faint objects which appeared within the region delimited by our circular apertures or in the surrounding annulus. Since these objects could be the remnant star clusters which produced the sequential SN explosions described in P92, we wished to measure accurate magnitudes and colors for them. Photometry was performed on 29 such objects using a 5″ diameter aperture and a background annulus with an inner diameter of 8″ and an outer diameter of 20″.

Because we were measuring magnitudes and colors of individual sources rather than an entire hole region, we decided to use the $`BVR`$ images from the April 1995 observing run alone for this step, rather than using the images merged from both observing runs. The April 1995 data were of better image quality compared to those from February 1994, and this improvement in resolution almost completely compensated for the added depth of the combined images with regard to point-source detection. The resolution (PSF FWHM) of the April 1995 broad-band images is $`1.71.8`$″, and the 4$`\sigma `$ limit on the brightness of a point source is $`B=23`$. Results from the point source photometry are given in Table 3. The first column lists an object designation reflecting the hole number in which the object is located, the next two columns give the position of the object, and the $`B`$ magnitude and colors of the source are given in columns 4 – 6. We note that the flux from any object within the apertures or annuli was measured, regardless of the object’s brightness or location. Therefore, this list should not be taken as a list of possible candidate star clusters. In many cases the objects listed have magnitudes and colors consistent with their being faint foreground stars.

### 2.3 Results of Photometry

We summarize the results of our imaging and photometric analysis in Table 4. In this table, each of the 51 H I holes is characterized with regard to the following key question: is there evidence for a star cluster at or near the center of the H I hole? The categories into which each hole has been assigned are: (1) Empty Hole – No source within the central aperture exceeding a flux level of 3$`\sigma `$ above the annular flux level. (2) Galaxian Background – Source(s) present in the hole, but with the characteristics/appearance of general galaxian background light rather than the putative star clusters. (3) Possible Star Cluster – Source(s) within the hole with the correct characteristics (color, brightness, appearance) of a genuine star cluster. (4) Possible Photoionization Region – The hole is coincident with an H II region and is most likely a cavity of photoionized gas rather than a wind/SNe-blown hole. (5) Faint Foreground Star – Photometry reveals that the object in the hole has the brightness and colors consistent with it being a foreground star not associated with Ho II. (6) Contaminated/No Photometry – A bright foreground star is present in the hole; no photometry was attempted.

It should be stressed that the assignment of a given hole into one of the six categories is by no means unambiguous in all cases. For example, assigning objects to category 2 (galaxian background) as opposed to category 5 (faint foreground star) was at times subjective. Further, we emphasize that objects in category 3 (possible star cluster) are assigned that designation even if the color and brightness of the source is only broadly consistent with the expected values. An object classified as category 3 cannot be interpreted as having been shown to be a young star cluster within Ho II. Rather, it is consistent with that hypothesis, but could just as likely be a foreground star (e.g., a halo white dwarf). Two holes (numbers 1 and 8) have point source photometry listed in Table 3, but the sources in question are located in the outer annuli. Hence, these two holes are classified as category 1.

The main results from Table 4 that we want to emphasize are: (1) nearly one third of the holes have no obvious optical source within our photometric apertures, and (2) only a minority of holes (6 of 44 for which photometry was obtained) have optical sources with the colors and brightnesses consistent with the expected star cluster. One hole (#43) is located in a complex of bright H II regions, and may represent a hole which is created by photoionization of the H I gas by the O and B stars. The status of the remaining holes (category 2 and 5) are uncertain, owing to the foreground or galaxian light they contain. However, in most cases this light is inconsistent with the properties of the putative star clusters, as quantified in the following section.

We note that the photometry listed in Tables 2 and 3 has not been corrected for reddening, either due to the Milky Way or internal to Ho II. Burstein & Heiles (1984) list a color excess of $`E`$($`B`$$``$$`V`$) $`=`$ 0.03 due to foreground reddening in the direction of Ho II. With regard to intrinsic absorption in Ho II, spectra of four H II regions by Hunter & Gallagher (1985) yield Balmer decrements (H$`\alpha `$/H$`\beta `$) consistent with zero or modest reddening. Hence, we believe that dust is not significantly affecting our photometry. This should be especially true in the outermost regions of Ho II, where our photometry provides the most sensitive test of the SNe hypothesis.

We will return to the photometry results in more detail in section 4.

## 3 Modeling Analysis

P92 catalogued the observed properties of the H I holes in Ho II, and from these, derived quantities such as the ages of the holes and the kinetic energies required to create them. Some of these observed and derived quantities (such as the radial expansion of the holes, and their energy requirements) were interpreted as evidence in favor of the stellar wind/multiple SNe scenario for the origin of the holes. In order to compare directly our observations with predictions that arise from the SN scenario, we have used the hole properties tabulated in P92 to derive the observable characteristics of the clusters which should exist if the SN hypothesis is correct.

A number of the quantities tabulated in P92 are distance-dependent; for example, the kinetic energies they calculated are given by the equation (Chevalier (1974)):

$$E=5.3\times 10^{43}n_{HI}^{1.12}R^{3.12}V^{1.4}\mathrm{ergs}$$
(1)   
where $`n_{HI}`$ is the volume density of the surrounding medium in particles per cubic centimeter, $`R`$ is the radius of the hole in parsecs, and $`V`$ is the expansion velocity of the hole in km s<sup>-1</sup>. P92 adopted a distance of 3.2 Mpc for Ho II. A more recent distance determination has been done by Hoessel et al. (1998) using Cepheid variable stars in Ho II. We have adopted their revised distance modulus for our calculations: $`(mM)=27.42`$, which yields a distance of 3.05 Mpc. Therefore we have used the data tabulated in P92 but have re-scaled it in accordance with this revised distance. Some of the relevant quantities that changed with the new distance have been included in Table 5. For most holes, the revised distance resulted in computed hole energies that are $``$14% less than those tabulated by P92. Note, however, that a typographical error in P92 caused their published energy value for hole #43 to be underestimated by more than an order of magnitude. Our table reflects the corrected energy for this hole.

To derive the characteristics that should be observable if the remnant clusters are located inside the H I holes, we proceeded as follows: using the kinetic energies of the holes, the number of supernova explosions required to create each hole was calculated. The energy imparted to the ISM by one supernova explosion was taken to be 10<sup>51</sup> ergs (cf. McCray & Kafatos (1987)). If the number of supernova explosions required to create a hole was $`<`$1, that hole was omitted from the rest of the calculations. For each remaining hole, a Salpeter IMF (Salpeter (1955)) was used to calculate the mass distribution for a model star cluster. This distribution was then scaled so that the number of stars of mass $``$ 7 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ was equal to the number of supernovae required to create that particular hole. (Stars with masses $``$ 7 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ were assumed to be of sufficient mass to end their lives as Type II supernovae.) Next, stars which would have evolved off the main sequence over a time scale equal to the age of the hole were removed from the distribution. Finally, composite magnitudes and colors were calculated for each of the synthetic clusters, for comparison with our observations.

The same calculations were repeated for a Miller-Scalo IMF (Miller & Scalo (1979)) and using a limit of $``$ 8 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ for the lowest mass stars which end their lives as Type II supernovae. Performing the calculation with these two sets of parameters provides us with a reasonable range of predicted brightnesses for the putative clusters, and reflects the current levels of uncertainty in both the slope of the IMF and lower mass limit for Type II supernova precursors.

We note that in this simple calculation we make no effort to take into account the light that the post-main-sequence stars would contribute to the cluster total. For clusters in the age range considered here, red supergiants might make a significant contribution to the total light. By ignoring the evolved stars, our models are providing only lower limits to the total cluster brightness. This must be kept in mind when comparisons are made with the observations.

The final results of the modeling analysis are given in Table 5. The hole energies and ages listed in columns 2 and 3 differ slightly from those tabulated by P92, for the reasons mentioned above. The predicted number of SNe for each hole is one-tenth of the number given in column 2 (i.e., the hole energy divided by 10<sup>51</sup>). Only those holes with energies in excess of 10<sup>51</sup> ergs (i.e., those which require at least one SN) are listed in the table. The $`B`$ magnitude and $`B`$$``$$`V`$ color listed under the heading “Model I” are the composite values for the model clusters computed using the Salpeter IMF and a Type II SN mass limit of 7 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$. The corresponding values listed under “Model II” are for models using a Miller-Scalo IMF and a mass limit of 8 $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$. In general, Model II predicts brighter clusters.

For many of the holes, the predicted cluster brightnesses are well below our observational limits, and hence we are unable to say anything definitive regarding the presence or absence of a young stellar population. However, for holes requiring energies in excess of 10<sup>52</sup> ergs (or $`>`$ 10 SNe) the expected brightness of the putative star cluster is at or above the limits set by our data. These holes will receive careful scrutiny in the next section.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 Results

The main results of our study are summarized in Table 6, which combines data from Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5 for specific holes. In Section 2.1 we established that a point source with $`B`$ $`=`$ 23.0 would be detected at the 4$`\sigma `$ level in our images. We list in Table 6 all H I holes that are predicted to contain star clusters as bright or brighter than $`B`$ $`=`$ 23.0 in one or both of the models presented in Section 3. The entries are sorted by hole category, as taken from Table 4.

A number of holes characterized in Table 4 as category 1 (no objects visible in the hole) are seen to have limiting magnitudes significantly fainter than the expected brightness of the putative clusters. In other words, if the SNe hypothesis for the origin of the holes is correct, one should definitely be able to see the clusters in a number of cases. Specific holes for which this test fails include 10, 13, 47, 49, and 50. In all these cases, the observational limits are more than one magnitude fainter than the predicted values for the case of Model II (8 M mass limit for SN). If the light from the evolved cluster stars is taken into account, the differences between the predicted brightnesses and the observed limits becomes even greater. It is interesting to note that these five holes are among the most energetic in Ho II, each requiring between 32 and 65 supernovae to create them in the P92 scenario.

For the specific H I holes mentioned above, we can clearly rule out the presence of the predicted star clusters at the expected levels. Therefore, it seems extremely unlikely that these holes were created by multiple SNe as hypothesized by P92. This is perhaps no great surprise, since the holes in question are located in regions of extremely low surface brightness. In fact, most lie outside of the Holmberg radius of Ho II. At these large distances from the galaxian center, the H I gas column densities are quite low, well below the empirical limits suggested by Kennicutt (1989) necessary for star formation to occur. In general, little star formation should occur beyond the Holmberg radius, so that the existence of multiple massive star clusters in the outer regions of Ho II, as predicted by P92, would be at odds with what we know about star formation in other galaxies.

The limits we can place on the presence of star clusters in the inner H I holes are less interesting for two reasons. First, the galaxian background is much higher there, making it easier to hide the presence of any cluster light. Second, the inner holes tend to be smaller in size and hence require fewer SNe to create them. Consequently the brightnesses predicted for these holes tend to be fainter than our observational limits. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that some of these inner H I holes are produced by SNe. There is of course no compelling reason for believing that all the holes have the same origin; we can only adequately test the SNe hypothesis for the outer H I holes. A few holes for which the observations may actually support the SNe hypothesis of P92 are numbers 21, 36, 44, and 48. These are listed in Table 6. Holes 21 and 48 are the most likely candidates, although hole 21 is in a very crowded region with many point sources in the optical images. The sources in holes 36 and 44 are both significantly brighter than the model predictions.

Further evidence against the SNe hypothesis comes from the H$`\alpha `$ image, which is shown in Figure 3 with the H I hole apertures superposed. Given the predicted ages and energetics of the holes, one might expect that at least some of the holes would exhibit diffuse H$`\alpha `$ emission. No such emission is seen in any of the holes, with the possible exception of the few holes that are coincident with H II regions (e.g., holes 16, 20, and 43). The locations of H$`\alpha `$ emission trace out the regions of high H I column density seen in Figure 1, indicating that the current star formation is occurring at local density maxima in the neutral gas distributions. P92 interpreted this as SNe-induced star formation caused by the compression of swept-up gas. We note, however, that this interpretation does not appear to be consistent with most of the holes, since only the minority have H$`\alpha `$ emission nearby.

ROSAT observations of Ho II have failed to detect the presence of any diffuse X-ray gas inside the HI cavities (F. Walter & J. Kerp, private communication). Such X-ray emission would be expected if the holes were filled with hot coronal gas from the SNe explosions. Furthermore, Stewart et al. (1997) analyzed far-ultraviolet (FUV) images of Ho II taken with the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and found no bright FUV knots located within the H I hole locations identified by P92. They found instead that bright FUV emission, if present, was likely to occur outside the hole boundaries.

### 4.2 Alternative Explanations

The observational evidence presented here strongly suggests that at least some of the H I holes in Ho II are not caused by multiple SN explosions in the manner envisioned by P92. Here we discuss possible alternative explanations for the presence of these features.

#### 4.2.1 Modified Hole Energetics

One possibility is that the SNe hypothesis is correct, but that the numbers published by P92 for the energetics of the H I holes are systematically overestimated. The energies and ages derived by P92 depend critically on the observed expansion velocities of the holes. These are difficult to measure precisely, and in some cases the evidence for the expansion is weak at best. If the measured expansion velocities given in P92 are systematically too high, then the holes might actually be substantially older, and the true required energies would be significantly reduced. This being the case, it might be possible to reduce the expected number of SNe, and hence the brightness of the remnant star clusters, below the observational limits found from our data. However, for the largest holes, a reduction in the total number of SNe of more than a factor of $``$5 is required. This would then imply an overestimation of the expansion velocities by a factor of more than three. Such a large error in the expansion velocities seems unlikely. Furthermore, the additional factors mentioned above regarding star formation beyond the Holmberg radius and the lack of H$`\alpha `$ and X-ray gas could still pose problems for this interpretation.

Another possibility is that the energetics of the holes have been overestimated not because of errors in the the expansion velocities, but because of uncertainties in the energy calculation itself. Estimates for the amount of energy imparted to the ISM by stellar winds and supernovae are based on our knowledge of the efficiencies of these processes, which are not well-constrained. P92 calculated the energy associated with each of the H I holes in Ho II using an expression derived from a hydrodynamical model by Chevalier (1974), which describes the evolution of a single spherically-symmetric supernova remnant in a uniform medium. It seems possible that using the results from such a model to calculate the total energies associated with H I holes in the non-uniform ISM of a galaxy like Ho II could introduce uncertainties of at least a factor of a few. As explained in the previous paragraph, if the energies of the holes have been overestimated, then fewer SNe may be needed to create the H I holes, which could push the putative cluster brightnesses below our observational limits. As before, however, this explanation still requires that some of the H I holes be created by supernovae occurring well beyond the Holmberg radius, in regions of the galaxy where star formation does not appear to have occurred in the past.

#### 4.2.2 A Non-Standard IMF

Another way to retain the SNe hypothesis would be to invoke an unusual IMF for the putative clusters. This possibility was actually suggested by P92. A top-heavy IMF, rich in massive stars but poor in low-mass ones, could explain the observations. However, there is as yet no real evidence for significant variations in the IMF as measured in different environments in the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies (Leitherer (1998)). Furthermore, since the stars which would be providing the expected cluster signature are themselves fairly massive, the IMF slope required to produce the requisite number of SNe would have to be quite severe, perhaps even inverted, in order to not produce a detectable population of B and A stars. Invoking such an unusual IMF is not a very compelling explanation.

Since the SNe hypothesis has significant problems, even when allowances for the above variants are made, we are forced to consider the alternative that the outer H I holes are not produced by the action of stellar winds and SNe. We again stress that our analysis does not exclude the possibility that the inner holes are produced by SNe/winds.

#### 4.2.3 Gamma-Ray Bursts

One possible explanation that has gained attention recently is the suggestion that the holes are remnants of Gamma-Ray Burst events (GRBs). Recent work by Loeb & Perna (1998) and Efremov et al. (1998) proposes that some of the HI supershells and hole features seen in nearby galaxies (such as the dwarfs in our sample) are remnants of GRBs. These authors suggest that GRBs might be associated with the release of gravitational binding energy during, for example, the collapse of a single, massive star to a black hole. They argue that such an event could produce a blast wave with energy comparable to the multiple-SN events thought to be necessary to produce the H I hole features. Since this proposal does not necessarily require that a large star cluster be left behind after the explosive event, the observational test applied here does not rule it out. Because only a single star can account for the GRB, one could hypothesize that the explosions which create the H I holes do not occur in massive star clusters, but rather in smaller associations which we would have no hope of detecting in our data. However, like the SN scenario, the GRB scenario requires that massive stars be present at the centers of the H I holes, in order to produce the expanding blast wave that creates the hole. As we have noted, many of the holes in Ho II occur in extremely LSB regions which show no indication of recent massive star formation. In addition, the GRB hypothesis would still predict the presence of hot X-ray emitting gas within the H I cavity. Hence, although the GRB hypothesis is an attractive alternative to the multiple-SNe scenario, and may well explain some of the H I holes seen in Ho II, we consider it unlikely to be correct for the outer holes, i.e., the same ones for which our current study has ruled out the SNe hypothesis.

#### 4.2.4 Impacts from High-Velocity Clouds

If stellar energy sources are ruled out, the next two most likely explanations for the H I holes are large-scale dynamical effects and ionization. The dynamical effects of a collision between an infalling neutral gas cloud and a galactic disk, resulting in an H I hole, were modeled by Tenorio-Tagle (1980, 1981). Clear associations between H I holes and high-velocity clouds are known in the Milky Way (Heiles 1985), M101 (van der Hulst & Sancisi 1988; Kamphuis, Sancisi, & van der Hulst 1991), NGC 628 (Kamphuis & Briggs 1992), NGC 6946 (Kamphuis & Sancisi 1993), and NGC 5668 (Schulman et al. 1996). The high-velocity clouds could be primordial material or the result of a galactic fountain.

This mechanism is attractive for explaining the holes at large galactocentric radii in Ho II, where there is very little starlight and very little likelihood for star formation. One of us (DJW) has re-examined the data cubes from P92 to search for candidate high-velocity clouds. The data cube with the greatest sensitivity, with a synthesized beam of 28 $`\times `$ 27 arc seconds and pixels of 10 arc seconds, was examined in the velocity range 64 to 244 km s<sup>-1</sup>. The root-mean-square (RMS) signal in an apparently line-free channel was 1.88 mJy beam<sup>-1</sup>. Candidate clouds were found by first making a statistical search for bright pixels, then searching for extended bright areas around those pixels. A candidate was required to have extended, superimposed signal in at least three adjacent channels.

Only one candidate cloud met our requirements. It is located at 08<sup>h</sup> 16<sup>m</sup> 37<sup>s</sup> 70° 42′ 36″, with a central velocity of 223.5 km s<sup>-1</sup> and a total velocity width of 7.7 km s<sup>-1</sup>. It is 17′ from the center of Ho II, giving a projected separation of about 15 kpc at the assumed distance of 3.05 Mpc. Pixels brighter than the background RMS are found in three channels. The peak intensity is 9.81 mJy beam<sup>-1</sup> (5.2 times the RMS) in the raw maps, and 19.63 mJy beam<sup>-1</sup> after correction for the primary beam. The maximum brightness temperature is 2.4 K. The cloud’s integrated H I line signal is 4.9 Jansky km s<sup>-1</sup>, giving a total H I mass of 1.2 $`\times `$ 10$`{}_{}{}^{7}M_{\mathrm{}}^{}`$. Its total angular extent is 92″ or 1.4 kpc. The properties of this candidate cloud are similar to those of the Milky Way high-velocity clouds described by Wakker & van Woerden (1997).

This cloud is not easily visible in the data cube, so no mention was made of it in P92. We wish to emphasize that this is a marginal detection at best, and must be confirmed by an independent observation before it can be considered anything but a candidate cloud. More than two million apparently empty pixels were searched for local peaks which might be candidate clouds. Only two pixels were found to be as bright as 5.2 times the RMS, and of these, only one had extended signal in three channels. In a sample of this size, two pixels as bright as 5.2 times the RMS are expected if the noise is Gaussian. There is a good possibility that we have simply found a noise peak rather than a real cloud. Even so, the candidate cloud can be used to set limits on the presence of high-velocity clouds within the observed velocity range.

The cloud has a velocity of 65 km s<sup>-1</sup> relative to Ho II, which has a systemic velocity of 158 km s<sup>-1</sup>. Its kinetic energy in the frame of Ho II is 5 $`\times `$ 10<sup>46</sup> Joules or 5 $`\times `$ 10<sup>53</sup> ergs, large enough to cause the largest holes in Ho II. The possible detection of a single candidate cloud with enough energy to cause a hole does not prove or disprove the hypothesis that infall caused the holes. Infall could be episodic, or there could be clouds outside the observed velocity range. It does show the observational difficulty in identifying high-velocity clouds in galaxies at the distance of the M81 group — even in observations as deep as those of P92, candidate clouds are nearly indistinguishable from 5-$`\sigma `$ noise peaks.

#### 4.2.5 Large-Scale Turbulence

Holes might be unavoidable due to the nature of the interstellar medium. It is well known that molecular clouds are fractal — see Beech (1987), Bazell & Désert (1988), Falgarone (1989), Scalo (1990), Falgarone, Phillips, & Walker (1991), and Elmegreen & Falgarone (1996). It is becoming clear that H I is fractal as well — see Vogelaar & Wakker (1994) and Westpfahl et al. (1999). The fractal dimension of the ISM is similar to that of structures seen in laboratory turbulence, which has led Elmegreen & Efremov (1999) and others to conclude that interstellar clouds form by processes related to turbulence. The processes which cause fractal structure, including turbulence, usually produce an internal distribution of holes, characterized as lacunarity by Mandelbrot (1983). If H I clouds are produced by processes related to turbulence, the holes may be a manifestation of the formation process.

We note that the fractal nature of H I distributions may change the energy required to form a hole via supernovae and stellar winds. A fractal structure with significant lacunarity may provide natural chimneys through which supernova ejecta can flow, thus significantly increasing the amount of energy injection needed to form an expanding shell.

#### 4.2.6 Ionization

Holes might also be formed by ionization. A source of ionizing photons in the outer regions of Ho II might be the intergalactic UV field. The observed column densities in the HI gas at the locations of these outer holes is of order a few times 10<sup>20</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>, significantly above the densities at which the UV radiation field can keep a large fraction of the HI ionized for an HI disk of normal thickness. However, P92 argue convincingly that the scale height of the gas in Ho II is significantly larger than in a typical spiral disk. If this is correct, the actual volume density of the gas in the outer regions would be significantly less than that for gas in a spiral disk with the same measured column density. In this case, it might be possible for lower density pockets of gas to approach the threshold volume density below which the ionization fraction of the gas remains high in steady state due to the ionizing UV photons. In other words, once a pocket of low density gas is created in the outer parts of a puffed-up disk as is envisioned for Ho II, it could become ionized by the intergalactic UV radiation field and remain highly ionized for a long time. Eventually the holes would be destroyed by dynamical processes (e.g., rotational shear), but in the outer parts of the galaxy they might well maintain their integrity for a substantial length of time due to the slow rotation speeds in low-mass galaxies like Ho II.

#### 4.2.7 An Unresolved Question

The actual origin of the H I holes in the outer parts of Ho II remains an open question. In the present study, we suggest strongly that at least some of the holes are not produced by the combined action of stellar winds and SNe explosions. In many ways the SNe hypothesis is a natural and sensible explanation for the holes, which was perhaps why it was almost universally accepted on face value. However, in several instances it clearly fails the direct observational test which we have applied. Additional work needs to be done on this problem in order for a clearer picture of the nature of these large-scale features to be developed. Our current lack of understanding leaves open a number of questions regarding the evolution of the ISM in irregular galaxies, and in particular the actual role of feedback from massive stars in shaping the ISM.

## 5 Summary & Conclusions

We have carried out a deep, multi-color imaging study of Ho II, a dwarf galaxy in the M81 group which has been shown to contain a large number of expanding holes in its neutral hydrogen distribution. The formation of the H I holes in Ho II and other galaxies like it has been attributed to multiple SNe occurring within wind-blown shells around young, massive star clusters. To search for evidence of the clusters, we have compared our optical images with the published H I maps, and have measured accurate magnitudes and colors of all objects in and around the H I holes. Photometry of 44 hole regions in Ho II reveals that at least 16 holes contain no detectable point sources brighter than $`B`$ $`=`$ 23.0. Ten of these holes are located beyond the Holmberg radius. An additional 21 holes contain only red ($`B`$$``$$`V`$ $`>`$ 1.0) sources, which are most likely either faint foreground stars or diffuse galaxian background emission from Ho II. Only 6 holes contain sources which could be interpreted as being young clusters of stars with the requisite brightness and color.

Comparison of models which predict the brightness of the putative star clusters with the observational limits obtained from our imaging data appear to rule out the SN scenario as being the cause of at least several of the most substantial H I holes. While convincing arguments cannot be made against the SNe scenario for the majority of the holes due to the lack of depth of our images coupled with severe crowding in the central portions of the galaxy, the fact that at least several holes appear to require an alternative explanation for their origin raises doubts about the SNe scenario in general. The lack of diffuse H$`\alpha `$ and X-ray emission from any of the holes further supports the possibility that the SNe scenario may be incorrect. Recent suggestions that the H I holes in galaxies like Ho II are caused by the events which create Gamma-ray bursts are also not favored by the current findings, although such scenarios are more difficult to rule out with the optical data since they require only a single massive star. A number of other alternative explanations for the existence of the H I holes are explored, including errors in the hole energetics, non-standard IMFs, dynamical processes such as large-scale turbulence or impacts from high-velocity clouds, and ionization. None of these alternatives is clearly favored at this time, and the origin of the H I holes remains an open question.

There is no doubt that energy input from massive stars plays a major role in shaping the ISM in galaxies. The current study, however, suggests that one must interpret the observational evidence for such influence carefully. Although the scenario proposed by P92 appears sensible, it makes a direct observational prediction which is not verified by the current study. The precise role that winds from massive stars and SNe shocks play in sculpting the gaseous distribution in galaxies remains an open question, calling for continued careful work on both the observational and theoretical fronts.

We are grateful for the professional support of the staff of Kitt Peak National Observatory during our two observing trips. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. KLR, JJS and LAR acknowledge with gratitude financial support from Wesleyan University, the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium, the Research Corporation, and the National Science Foundation, all of whom provided partial support for this project. DJW gratefully acknowledges financial support from the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, the Kahlmeyer Foundation, and the Research and Economic Development division of New Mexico Tech. We have benefited from discussions with many colleagues, including D. Puche, R. Larson, S. Van Dyk, F. Walter, and E. Brinks. JJS would like to recognize L. van Zee and NRAO-Socorro for their hospitality during the preparation of portions of this paper. We would also like to thank the anonymous referee for useful comments.