The disk-halo connection and the nature of the interstellar medium

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6966064

Norman, C A; Ikeuchi, S

Some results on the nature of the interstellar medium that are specifically concerned with the disk-halo interaction are discussed. Over the last five years or so it has become clear that the supernovae rate in our Galaxy is spatially clumped and the consequences of such clumping are superbubbles and supershells fed by tens or hundreds of supernovae per shell. These objects evolve and expand rapidly and soon break out of the disk of the Galaxy, feeding the halo with very significant mass, energy, and momentum. As cooling occurs, gas will rain down onto the disk of the Galaxy completing the cycle. The basic flow of physical quantities from disk to halo and vice versa are discussed. Some of the many implications are noted including aspects of dynamo theory, quasar absorption lines, the theory of galactic coronae, and the nature of the x ray background. The essential difference here with the McKee-Ostriker (1977) theory is that the filling factor of the hot gas in the disk is significantly less than unity.

• Research Organization: Space Telescope Science Inst., Baltimore, MD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6966064
• Report Number(s): N-90-15860; NASA-CR--186286; NAS--1.26:186286; PREPRINT-SERIES--232
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BACKGROUND RADIATION
COOLING
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DATA
ENERGY TRANSFER
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
GALAXIES
INFORMATION
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
NUMERICAL DATA
QUASARS
RADIATIONS
SPACE
STARS
SUPERNOVAE
THEORETICAL DATA
VARIABLE STARS