STEADY-STATE HADRONIC GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM 100-MYR-OLD FERMI BUBBLES
- Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra (Australia)
- CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Marsfield, N.S.W. (Australia)
Fermi Bubbles are enigmatic γ-ray features of the Galactic bulge. Both putative activity (within few × Myr) connected to the Galactic center super-massive black hole and, alternatively, nuclear star formation have been claimed as the energizing source of the Bubbles. Likewise, both inverse-Compton emission by non-thermal electrons (''leptonic'' models) and collisions between non-thermal protons and gas (''hadronic'' models) have been advanced as the process supplying the Bubbles' γ-ray emission. An issue for any steady state hadronic model is that the very low density of the Bubbles' plasma seems to require that they accumulate protons over a multi-gigayear timescale, much longer than other natural timescales occurring in the problem. Here we present a mechanism wherein the timescale for generating the Bubbles' γ-ray emission via hadronic processes is ∼few × 10{sup 8} yr. Our model invokes the collapse of the Bubbles' thermally unstable plasma, leading to an accumulation of cosmic rays and magnetic field into localized, warm (∼10{sup 4} K), and likely filamentary condensations of higher-density gas. Under the condition that these filaments are supported by non-thermal pressure, the hadronic emission from the Bubbles is L {sub γ} ≅ 2 × 10{sup 37} erg s{sup –1} M-dot {sub in}/(0.1 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup –1} ) T{sub FB}{sup 2}/(3.5×10{sup 7} K){sup 2} M {sub fil}/M {sub pls}, equal to their observed luminosity (normalizing to the star-formation-driven mass flux into the Bubbles and their measured plasma temperature and adopting the further result that the mass in the filaments, M {sub fil} is approximately equal to the that of the Bubbles' plasma, M {sub pls})
- OSTI ID:
- 22365332
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 791, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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