Supernovae are the dominant source of stellar feedback, which plays an important role in regulating galaxy formation and evolution. While this feedback process is still quite uncertain, it is probably not due to individual supernova remnants as commo
nly observed. Most supernovae likely take place in low-density, hot gaseous environments, such as superbubbles and galactic bulges, and typically produce no long-lasting bright remnants. I review recent observational and theoretical work on the impact of such supernovae on galaxy ecosystems, particularly on hot gas in superbubbles and galactic spheroids.
The thermal, chemical, and kinematic properties of the potentially multi-phase circum/inter-galactic medium at the virial radii of galaxy clusters remain largely uncertain. We present an X-ray study of Abell 2246 and GMBCG J255.34805+64.23661 (z=0.23
and 0.45), two foreground clusters of the UV-bright QSO HS 1700+6416, based on 240 ks Chandra/ACIS-I observations. We detect enhanced diffuse X-ray emission to the projected distances beyond r_{200} radii of these two clusters. The large-scale X-ray emission is consistent with being azimuthally symmetric at the projected radii of the QSO (0.36 and 0.8 times the radii of the two clusters). Assuming a spherical symmetry, we obtain the de-projected temperature and density profiles of the X-ray-emitting gas. Excluding the cool cores that are detected, we find that the mean temperature of the hot gas is about 4.0 keV for Abell 2246 and 5.5 keV for GMBCG J255.34805+64.23661, although there are indications for temperature drop at large radii. From these results, we can estimate the density and pressure distributions of the hot gas along the QSO sightline. We further infer the radial entropy profile of Abell 2246 and compare it with the one expected from purely gravitational hierarchical structure formation. This comparison shows that the ICM in the outer region of the clusters is likely in a clumpy and multi-phased state. These results, together with the upcoming HST/COS observations of the QSO sightline, will enable a comprehensive investigation of the multi-phase medium associated with the clusters.
The hot interstellar medium is an important part of the Galactic ecosystem and can be effectively characterized through X-ray absorption line spectroscopy. However, in a study of the hot medium using the accreting neutron star X-ray binary, Cyg X-2,
as a background light source, a mystery came about when the putatively strong OVII Kalpha line was not detected in Chandra grating observations, while other normally weaker lines such as OVII Kbeta as well as OVI and OVIII Kalpha are clearly present (Yao et al. 2009). We have investigated the grating spectra of Cyg X-2 from 10 XMM-Newton observations, in search of the missing line. We detect it consistently in nine of these observations, but the line is absent in the remaining one observation or is inconsistent with the detection in others at a 4sigma confidence level. This absence of the line resembles that seen in the Chandra observations. Similarly, the OVI Kalpha line is found to disappear occasionally, but not in concert with the variation of the OVII Kalpha line. All these variations are most likely due to the presence of changing OVII and OVI Kalpha emission lines of Cyg X-2, which are blurred together with the absorption ones in the X-ray spectra. A re-examination of the Chandra grating data indeed shows evidence for a narrow emission line slightly off the OVI Kalpha absorption line. We further show that narrow NV emission lines with varying centroids and fluxes are present in far-UV spectra from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. These results provide new constraints on the accretion around the neutron star and on the X-ray-heating of the stellar companion. The understanding of these physical processes is also important to the fidelity of using such local X-ray binaries for interstellar absorption line spectroscopy.
The two papers referred to in the title, claiming the detection of a large-scale massive hot gaseous halo around the Galaxy, have generated a lot of confusion and unwarranted excitement (including public news coverage). However, the papers are seriou
sly flawed in many aspects, including problematic analysis and assumptions, as well as mis-reading and mis-interpreting earlier studies, which are inconsistent with the claim. Here we show examples of such flaws.
The galactic neighborhood, extending from the Milky Way to redshifts of about 0.1, is our unique local laboratory for detailed study of galaxies and their interplay with the environment. Such study provides a foundation of knowledge for interpreting
observations of more distant galaxies and their environment. The Astro 2010 Science Frontier Galactic Neighborhood Panel identified four key scientific questions: 1) What are the flows of matter and energy in the circumgalactic medium? 2) What controls the mass-energy-chemical cycles within galaxies? 3) What is the fossil record of galaxy assembly from first stars to present? 4) What are the connections between dark and luminous matter? These questions, essential to the understanding of galaxies as interconnected complexes, can be addressed most effectively and/or uniquely in the galactic neighborhood. The panel also highlighted the discovery potential of time-domain astronomy and astrometry with powerful new techniques and facilities to greatly advance our understanding of the precise connections among stars, galaxies, and newly discovered transient events. The relevant needs for laboratory astrophysics will be emphasized, especially in the context of supporting NASA missions.
Galactic X-ray emission is a manifestation of various high-energy phenomena and processes. The brightest X-ray sources are typically accretion-powered objects: active galactic nuclei and low- or high-mass X-ray binaries. Such objects with X-ray lumin
osities of > 10^{37} ergs/s can now be detected individually in nearby galaxies. The contributions from fainter discrete sources (including cataclysmic variables, active binaries, young stellar objects, and supernova remnants) are well correlated with the star formation rate or stellar mass of galaxies. The study of discrete X-ray sources is essential to our understanding of stellar evolution, dynamics, and end-products as well as accretion physics. With the subtraction of the discrete source contributions, one can further map out truly diffuse X-ray emission, which can be used to trace the feedback from active galactic nuclei, as well as from stars, both young and old, in the form of stellar winds and supernovae. The X-ray emission efficiency, however, is only about 1% of the energy input rate of the stellar feedback alone. The bulk of the feedback energy is most likely gone with outflows into large-scale galactic halos. Much is yet to be investigated to comprehend the role of such outflows in regulating the ecosystem, hence the evolution of galaxies. Even the mechanism of the diffuse X-ray emission remains quite uncertain. A substantial fraction of the emission cannot arise directly from optically-thin thermal plasma, as commonly assumed, and most likely originates in its charge exchange with neutral gas. These uncertainties underscore our poor understanding of the feedback and its interplay with the galaxy evolution.
This presentation reviews Chandras major contribution to the understanding of nearby galaxies. After a brief summary on significant advances in characterizing various types of discrete X-ray sources, the presentation focuses on the global hot gas in
and around galaxies, especially normal ones like our own. The hot gas is a product of stellar and AGN feedback -- the least understood part in theories of galaxy formation and evolution. Chandra observations have led to the first characterization of the spatial, thermal, chemical, and kinetic properties of the gas in our Galaxy. The gas is concentrated around the Galactic bulge and disk on scales of a few kpc. The column density of chemically-enriched hot gas on larger scales is at least an order magnitude smaller, indicating that it may not account for the bulk of the missing baryon matter predicted for the Galactic halo according to the standard cosmology. Similar results have also been obtained for other nearby galaxies. The X-ray emission from hot gas is well correlated with the star formation rate and stellar mass, indicating that the heating is primarily due to the stellar feedback. However, the observed X-ray luminosity of the gas is typically less than a few percent of the feedback energy. Thus the bulk of the feedback (including injected heavy elements) is likely lost in galaxy-wide outflows. The results are compared with simulations of the feedback to infer its dynamics and interplay with the circum-galactic medium, hence the evolution of galaxies.
We have recently carried out the first wide-field hydrogen Paschen-alpha line imaging survey of the Galactic Center (GC), using the NICMOS instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The survey maps out a region of 2253 pc^2 around the central supe
rmassive black hole (Sgr A*) in the 1.87 and 1.90 Micron narrow bands with a spatial resolution of 0.01 pc at a distance of 8 kpc. Here we present an overview of the observations, data reduction, preliminary results, and potential scientific implications, as well as a description of the rationale and design of the survey. We have produced mosaic maps of the Paschen-alpha line and continuum emission, giving an unprecedentedly high resolution and high sensitivity panoramic view of stars and photo-ionized gas in the nuclear environment of the Galaxy. We detect a significant number of previously undetected stars with Paschen-alpha in emission. They are most likely massive stars with strong winds, as confirmed by our initial follow-up spectroscopic observations. About half of the newly detected massive stars are found outside the known clusters (Arches, Quintuplet, and Central). Many previously known diffuse thermal features are now resolved into arrays of intriguingly fine linear filaments indicating a profound role of magnetic fields in sculpting the gas. The bright spiral-like Paschen-alpha emission around Sgr A* is seen to be well confined within the known dusty torus. In the directions roughly perpendicular to it, we further detect faint, diffuse Paschen-alpha emission features, which, like earlier radio images, suggest an outflow from the structure. In addition, we detect various compact Paschen-alpha nebulae, probably tracing the accretion and/or ejection of stars at various evolutionary stages.
