Cited by 126Astrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsAstrophysics and Cosmic PhenomenaGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

PROBING THE FERMI BUBBLES IN ULTRAVIOLET ABSORPTION: A SPECTROSCOPIC SIGNATURE OF THE MILKY WAY'S BICONICAL NUCLEAR OUTFLOW

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Fox, Andrew J., Bordoloi, Rongmon, Savage, Blair D., Lockman, Felix J., Jenkins, Edward B., Wakker, Bart P., Bland-Hawthorn, Joss, Hernandez, Svea +4 more·2015·The Astrophysical Journal

Abstract

Giant lobes of plasma extend ≈55° above and below the Galactic center, glowing in emission from gamma rays (the Fermi Bubbles) to microwaves and polarized radio waves. We use ultraviolet absorption-line spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope to constrain the velocity of the outflowing gas within these regions, targeting the quasar PDS 456 (ℓ, b = 10 4, +11 2). This sightline passes through a clear biconical structure seen in hard X-ray and gamma-ray emission near the base of the northern Fermi Bubble. We report two high-velocity metal absorption components, at v LSR = −235 and +250 km s −1 , which cannot be explained by co-rotating gas in the Galactic disk or halo. Their velocities are suggestive of an origin on the front and back side of an expanding biconical outflow emanating from the Galactic center. We develop simple kinematic biconical outflow models that can explain the observed profiles with an outflow velocity of ≳900 km s −1 and a full opening angle of ≈110° (matching the X-ray bicone). This indicates Galactic center activity over the last ≈2.5–4.0 Myr, in line with age estimates of the Fermi Bubbles. The observations illustrate the use of UV spectroscopy to probe the properties of swept-up gas venting into the Fermi Bubbles.

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  • The model also recovers the kinematics of the warm absorption clouds (v_los ∼ ±200 km/s).

    “The model also recovers the kinematics of the warm absorption clouds ( v los ∼ ± 200 km s -1 ) as discussed in section 2.5.2 (also Fox et al. 2015; Bordoloi et al. 2017).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Heckman, T. M. 2002, in ASP Conf. Ser. 254, Extragalactic Gas at Low Redshift, ed. J. S. Mulchaey & J. Stocke (San Francisco, CA: ASP), 292
  2. McCourt, M., O'Leary, R. M., Madigan, A.-M., & Quataert, E. 2014, MNRAS, submitted (arXiv:1409.6719) · arXiv

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Authors
Fox, A. J., Bordoloi, R., Savage, B. D., Lockman, F. J., Jenkins, E. B., Wakker, B. P., Bland-Hawthorn, J., Hernandez, S., Kim, T.-S., Benjamin, R. A., Bowen, D. V., & Tumlinson, J.
Affiliations
  • Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US)
  • Princeton University (US)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • Trieste Astronomical Observatory (IT)
  • University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (US)
Corresponding author
Fox, Andrew J.
Venue
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2015-01-19
Volume
799
Issue
1
Pages
L7
ISSN
  • 2041-8205 (ISSN-L)
  • 2041-8213
OpenAlex
W2114344995
Cited by
126
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 9
FWCI
10.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Astrophysical Journal Letters (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (NAS 5-26555)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS 526555, 526555)
  • Space Telescope Science Institute (NAS5- 26555, 5-26555, 26555)
  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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
Fermi bubbles, biconical outflow, ultraviolet absorption lines, PDS 456, outflow velocity, Galactic halo

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