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Detection of large-scale X-ray bubbles in the Milky Way halo
Open accessAbstract
The halo of the Milky Way provides a laboratory to study the properties of the shocked hot gas that is predicted by models of galaxy formation. There is observational evidence of energy injection into the halo from past activity in the nucleus of the Milky Way 1-4; however, the origin of this energy (star formation or supermassive-black-hole activity) is uncertain, and the causal connection between nuclear structures and large-scale features has not been established unequivocally. Here we report soft-X-ray-emitting bubbles that extend approximately 14 kiloparsecs above and below the Galactic centre and include a structure in the southern sky analogous to the North Polar Spur. The sharp boundaries of these bubbles trace collisionless and non-radiative shocks, and corroborate the idea that the bubbles are not a remnant of a local supernova 5 but part of a vast Galaxy-scale structure closely related to features seen in γ-rays 6. Large energy injections from the Galactic centre 7 are the most likely cause of both the γ-ray and X-ray bubbles. The latter have an estimated energy of around 10 56 erg, which is sufficient to perturb the structure, energy content and chemical enrichment of the circumgalactic medium of the Milky Way.
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“It was only very recently that the high-sensitivity X-ray telescopes, such as eROSITA (Predehl et al. 2021) and MAXI , have been able to detect the southern counterpart of the NPS, known as the eROSITA bubbles (Predehl et al. 2020; Nakahira et al. 2020).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Predehl et al. 2020
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“Therefore, the energy density and the total energy in the eROSITA bubbles are, ϵ = nskBTs / ( γ -1) ≃ 2 × 10 -12 erg cm -3 and E th ≃ 10 56 erg, respectively (Kataoka et al. 2013, 2015; Predehl et al. 2020).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Predehl et al. 2020
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“Therefore, the energy density and the total energy in the eROSITA bubbles are, ϵ = nskBTs / ( γ -1) ≃ 2 × 10 -12 erg cm -3 and E th ≃ 10 56 erg, respectively (Kataoka et al. 2013, 2015; Predehl et al. 2020).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Predehl et al. 2020
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“The required energy and dynamical time for the 'Bipolar Hyper-Shell' were found to be ∼ 3 × 10 56 erg and ∼ 15 Myr, very close to the currently accepted values for the eROSITA bubbles (Kataoka et al. 2013; Predehl et al. 2020).”
From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Predehl et al. 2020
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Cites
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Items 201–234 of 234
Diffuse Hot Plasma in the Interstellar Medium and Galactic Outflows
Sasaki, M., Ponti, G., & Mackey, J. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_91-1
Self-citation“Fermi” bubbles are bursting from our galaxy. Their origins remain a mystery
Mann, A. (2023) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2318720120
Diffuse Hot Plasma in the Interstellar Medium and Galactic Outflows
Sasaki, M., Ponti, G., & Mackey, J. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-6960-7_91
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Fabbiano, G., & Elvis, M. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-6960-7_111 · Cited by 1
Nardini, E., Kim, D., & Pellegrini, S. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-6960-7_109
Non-thermal outflows of the Milky Way traced by radio polarization and gamma-ray emission
(2024) · Nature Astronomy · doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02363-z
“In the Milky Way, the eROSITA X-ray telescope recently discovered Galactic-scale structures — the ‘eROSITA bubbles’ — that trace the hot plasma in large-scale Galactic outflows 5 .”
The Distance to Dobashi 6193—A Dark Cloud Shadowing the eROSITA Bubbles
Yeung, M. C. H., & Freyberg, M. J. (2024) · Research Notes of the AAS · doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ad8923
Self-citationThe hot universe revealed by eROSITA
Reiprich, T. H., & Merloni, A. (2024) · Europhysics news · doi:10.1051/epn/2024513
Self-citationA Glimpse of the Sky at TeV Energies
Montanari, A., & Moulin, E. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-66470-0_4
Fermi/eROSITA bubbles as relics of the past activity of the galaxy’s central black hole
Yang, H.-Y. K. (2024) · International Journal of Modern Physics D · doi:10.1142/s0218271825400048
Detection of polarized Fermi-bubble synchrotron and dust emission
Keshet, U. (2024) · Journal of High Energy Astrophysics · doi:10.1016/j.jheap.2024.12.010
“If so, the lobes may well be the haze-like signature of the ROSAT / eROSITA (Sofue, 2000; Predehl et al., 2020) bubbles: the larger, b ≳ 80 ◦ counterparts of the FBs.”
Identification of quasars that are variable over long timescales from infrared surveys
Zaharieva, E., Ivanov, V. D., Ovcharov, E. P., & Stanchev, O. (2025) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450972
Distance to the Galactic Center 7′ Halo from H I Absorption
Maji, D., & Roy, S. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ade05d
Cosmic Ray Acceleration by Shocks in Galactic Halo
Zirakashvili, V. N., Ptuskin, V. S., & Rogovaya, S. I. (2025) · Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences Physics · doi:10.1134/s1062873825711535
Observational Evidence of The Change of Activity Modes of Galactic Nuclei
Moiseev, A. V., & Arshinova, A. (2025) · Physics of Space: All-Russian Student Scientific Conference with International Participation · doi:10.15826/b978-5-7996-3986-0.08
Multiband Studies of The Interstellar Medium
Зинченко, И. И. (2025) · Physics of Space: All-Russian Student Scientific Conference with International Participation · doi:10.15826/b978-5-7996-3986-0.03
Richter, P., Runger, F., Lehner, N., Howk, J. C., Péroux, C., Libeskind, N. I., Steinmetz, M., & de Jong, R. (2025) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555773
Kawashima, T., & Asano, K. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adee96
Zhu, P.-X., Li, M., & Zhang, M. (2025) · Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1088/1674-4527/ae0228
Diffuse Continuum Emission and Large Extended Sources at MeV Energies
Ackermann, M., Malyshev, D., & Malyshev, D. V. (2025) · Space Science Reviews · doi:10.1007/s11214-025-01215-0 · Cited by 1
“A structure similar to the radio Loop I is also visible in the X-ray data, where it is often referred to as the North polar spur or, more recently, the eROSITA bubbles (Predehl et al. 2020).”
Plasma Wave-particle Acceleration as the Origin of the Galactic Gamma-Ray Bubbles
Cardinali, A., Coppi, B., Tavani, M., & Vittorini, V. (2025) · Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae1224
“The stationary solution calculated in this work can account for the gamma-ray emission, regarding the X-ray emission ( e.g., P. Predehl et al. 2020 ) we need to calculate the transport-evolution of the accelerated electrons along and outside the acceleration site.”
How Is Cold Gas Loaded into Galactic Nuclear Outflows?
Su, Y., Liu, X., Zhang, S., Yang, J., Sun, Y., Zhang, S., Du, F., Zhou, X., YAN, Q.-Z., & Chen, X. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae2ea1
“The wind expels gas vertically, giving rise to large-scale symmetrical lobes that extend above and below the GP (the Fermi/eROSITA bubbles; M. Su et al. 2010; M. J. Miller & J. N. Bregman 2016; I. Heywood et al. 2019; P. Predehl et al. 2020).”
Shells and Bubbles around Compact Clusters of Massive Stars: 3D MHD Simulations
Badmaev, D. V., Bykov, A. M., & Kalyashova, M. E. (2025) · Astronomy Letters · doi:10.1134/s106377372570046x
“Galactic outflows from star-forming regions may be associated with large-scale structures observed in radio and X-ray surveys, such as giant bubbles (eROSITA bubbles) (Predehl et al. 2020) and the North Polar Spur (Churazov et al. 2024).”
Self-citationMatsushita, K., Sugiyama, H., Ueda, M., Okabe, N., Fukushima, K., Kobayashi, S., Yamasaki, N. Y., & Sato, K. (2026) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan · doi:10.1093/pasj/psag009
The role of magnetic fields in shaping γ-ray emission from the Fermi bubbles
Tourmente, O., Rodgers-Lee, D., & Taylor, A. M. (2026) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stag169
H.E.S.S. observations of composite Seyfert–starburst galaxies
Acharyya, A., Aharonian, F., Ashkar, H., Backes, M., Martins, V. B., Batzofin, R., Becherini, Y., Berge, D., Böttcher, M., Boisson, C., et al. (2026) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555824
Study of the Galactic Center and Search for Dark Matter with the H.E.S.S. Inner Galaxy Survey
Montanari, A. (2022) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/b69e83c8z6355z4b9bz86ddz59d5424822a9
Modelling the non-equilibrium chemistry of the Milky Way’s cold nuclear wind
Noon, K. A., Krumholz, M. R., McClure‐Griffiths, N. M., Teodoro, E. M. D., & Armillotta, L. (2026) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stag715
Shaw, V., Harper, S., Dickinson, C., Leahy, J. P., Hoerning, G. A., Cepeda-Arroita, R., Weymann-Despres, G., Peel, M., Taylor, A. C., Pearson, T. J., et al. (2026) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stag989
Shimoda, J., Asano, K., & Inutsuka, S. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae6e38
“…explains the Fermi bubble ( M. Su et al. 2010; M. Su & D. P. Finkbeiner 2012; M. Ackermann et al. 2014; K. C. Sarkar 2024 ) and eROSITA bubble ( P. Predehl et al. 2020; E. Churazov et al. 2024; H.-S. Zhang et al. 2024 ) as by-products of the interaction between the wind and cosmic rays ( CRs ) .”
Simulating winds in the Galactic centre
Peschken, N., Teodoro, E. M. D., Hanasz, M., Armillotta, L., Tress, R., Naab, T., Wóltański, D., & Gawryszczak, A. (2026) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202659639
Pan, Z., Qu, Z., Gong, Y., Sun, T., Bregman, J. N., Zhang, Y., Ji, L., & Liu, J. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae883d
“…from bright and complex emission in the Galactic plane; and ( 4 ) out of large-scale X-ray structures, including the eROSITA bubbles ( P. Predehl et al. 2020 ) , the Cygnus and Eridanus superbubbles ( W. Cash et al. 1980; B. B. Ochsendorf et al. 2015 ) , and the Vela and Monogem…”
The SRG/eROSITA diffuse soft X-ray background
Yeung, M. C. H., Mayer, M. G. F., Strong, A. W., Freyberg, M. J., Ponti, G., Dennerl, K., Mao, J., Sasaki, M., Zheng, X., Sanders, J. S., et al. (2026) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202558206
Self-citationA High-Galactic-altitude Scattering Screen: Scintillation from Globular Cluster Pulsar M53A
He, Q., Shi, X., Yin, D., & Li, H. (2026) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aeacbd
“Basedon the Spektr-RG ( SRG ) / eROSITA all-sky survey data, P. Predehl et al. ( 2020 ) detected giant soft X-ray emitting bubbles ( the eROSITA bubbles ) extending ∼ 14 kpc symme-trically from the Galactic center across the Galactic plane.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Predehl, P., Sunyaev, R. A., Becker, W., Brunner, H., Burenin, R., Bykov, A., Cherepashchuk, A., Chugai, N., Churazov, E., Doroshenko, V., Eismont, N., Freyberg, M., Gilfanov, M., Haberl, F., Khabibullin, I., Krivonos, R., Maitra, C., Medvedev, P., Merloni, A., Nandra, K., Nazarov, V., Pavlinsky, M., Ponti, G., Sanders, J. S., Sasaki, M., Sazonov, S., Strong, A. W., & Wilms, J.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE)
- Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- Ioffe Institute (RU)
- Lomonosov Moscow State University (RU)
- University of Tübingen (DE)
- Brera Astronomical Observatory (IT)
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Predehl, P.
- Sunyaev, R. A.
- Churazov, E.
- Merloni, A.
- Nandra, K.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2020-12-09
- Volume
- 588
- Issue
- 7837
- Pages
- 227-231
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W3112683134
- Cited by
- 234
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 12.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Keywords
- X-ray bubbles, Galactic halo, Galactic Center, soft X-ray emission, collisionless shocks, energy injection, circumgalactic medium, North Polar Spur, eROSITA, galaxy formation
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