Colloquium on May. 19, 2022

The Local Bubble

Speaker: Martin Krause (University of Herfordshire)

Venue: Video Conference

Time: 16:00 PM, Thursday, May. 19, 2022

Abstract:

The Local Bubble is an X-ray-bright superbubble of around 200 pc in diameter with the Sun approximately at its centre. Due to our unique location, the Local Bubble can be studied in much more detail than any other superbubble. X-rays provide precise measurements of the hot gas, ionised filaments and clouds have been found in UV measurements and the magnetic field is constrained by pulsar rotation measures and starlight polarisation. The cosmic rays we measure on Earth probe the Local Bubble and sediments of radionuclides reveal the supernova history of the past several million years. Finally, GAIA has revealed the supershell in great detail. There is triggered star formation and interaction with neighbouring superbubbles. We have performed3D hydrodynamic simulations of superbubbles in general and analysed some Local Bubble properties in particular. I will show that many features found in the Local Bubble and immediate environment fit very well with the big picture that emerges from superbubble simulations.