Numerical simulations suggest that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) play an
important role in the formation of early-type galaxies by expelling gas and
dust in powerful galactic winds and quenching star formation. However, the
existence of AGN feedback capable of halting galaxy-wide star formation has yet
to be observationally confirmed. To investigate this question, we have obtained
spectra of 14 post-starburst galaxies at z~0.6 to search for evidence of
galactic winds. In 10/14 galaxies we detect Mg II 2796,2803 absorption lines
which are blueshifted by 490 - 2020 km/s with respect to the stars. The median
blueshift is 1140 km/s. We hypothesize that the outflowing gas represents a
fossil galactic wind launched near the peak of the galaxy's activity, a few 100
Myr ago. The velocities we measure are intermediate between those of luminous
starbursts and broad absorption line quasars, which suggests that feedback from
an AGN may have played a role in expelling cool gas and shutting down star
formation.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter
