Keynote Lecture Galactic and Extragalactic Bubbles.pdfVIP

a r X i v : a s t r o - p h / 0 5 0 1 5 8 6 v 1 2 6 J a n 2 0 0 5 Keynote Lecture: Galactic and Extragalactic Bubbles D. BREITSCHWERDT (1), M.A. DE AVILLEZ (1,2), M.J. FREYBERG (3) (1) Institut fu?r Astronomie, Universita?t Wien, Tu?rkenschanzstra?e 17, A-1180 Wien, Austria (2) Department of Mathematics, University of E?vora, R. Roma?o Ramalho 59, 7000 E?vora, Portugal (3) MPI fu?r extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstra?e 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany The observational and theoretical state of Galactic and extragalactic bubbles are reviewed. Observations of superbubbles are discussed, with some emphasis on nearby bubbles such as the Local Bubble (LB) and the Loop I superbubble (LI). Analytical bubble theory is revisited, and similarity solutions, including the time-dependent energy input by supernova explosions according to a Galactic initial mass function (IMF), are studied. Since the agreement with ob- servations is not convincing in case of the LB, we present high resolution 3D AMR simulations of the LB and LI in an inhomogeneous background medium. It is demonstrated that both the morphology and recently published FUSE data on Ovi absorption line column densities can be well understood, if the LB is the result of about 20 supernova explosions from a moving group, and the LB age is about 14.7 Myrs. Keywords: ISM: general - ISM: evolution - ISM: bubbles - Galaxies: ISM - X-rays: ISM 1 Introduction The term “bubble” in science is not well defined. A convenient operational definition could be that of a closed two-dimensional surface in three-space, separating two media of different (phys- ical) properties, with lower density inside than outside. Consequently there exists a vast range of topics in the literature from electron bubbles in superfluid helium to bubbles in avalanches. In astrophysics, interstellar bubbles are an already classical subject in ISM research, and seem to have experienced a renaissance each time a new process for significant energy injec