10 - Coronal interstellar gas and supernova remnants

Summary

Introduction

The study of coronal (T≳ 10⁶ K) interstellar gas is a relatively new branch of astronomy. Before the 1970s, there was little direct evidence for such gas, although theoretical models predicted that it should be found in the interiors of supernova shells. In 1956, Spitzer made the prescient suggestion that the galaxy would likely possess a hot corona much like the solar corona. By the early 1970s, a series of rocket experiments had shown that the Milky Way was glowing in soft X-rays, indicating that coronal gas was pervasive in the interstellar medium; this interpretation was supported by observations by the Copernicus satellite of the interstellar absorption line O VI λ1035, showing that this tracer of high-temperature gas was extensively distributed throughout the galaxy.

We now have good maps of the brightness and temperature distribution of the soft X-ray emission from the Milky Way. With X-ray telescopes we have seen emission from coronal gas in elliptical galaxies and between the galaxies in clusters. As a result of these observations, the theory of coronal interstellar gas has advanced rapidly. The atomic processes that determine the local temperature, ionization, and spectral emissivity of the gas have been studied in detail. We have also learned much about the energy sources and macroscopic processes that control the global properties of the interstellar gas. It is now clear that the coronal gas in the Milky Way is produced mainly by the blast waves from supernova explosions, although stellar winds and compact X-ray sources may dominate in specific locales.