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Radio, Millimeter and Infrared Observations of the Local Hot Bubble and Its Environment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Abstract
We present a definition of the local void of neutral gas from observations in the radio frequency window. We question the concept of the Local Bubble in sense of a more or less spherical volume which is surrounded by a shell of denser gas. The concept of the Local Bubble is challenged by the discovery of numerous neutral, dense clouds inside the local void. The search for a “shell” around the suspected Bubble has resulted only in inconclusive findings so far. The sample of high latitude molecular clouds illustrates the situation particularly well. The statistical properties of their spatial distribution, e.g. the mean distance, seem to fit very nicely to the spatial extent of the Local Bubble. But a more detailed investigation shows that the concept of a bubble – in particular an expanding bubble – is not supported. We suggest that the local void is nothing more than a typical place in an interarm region of our Galaxy.
Finally, a discussion of the high latitude boundary of the local void does not give strong evidence for the concept of a bubble, that has once been in rapid expansion and is still showing signs of interaction with its environment. However, indications for interactions of IVCs or HVCs with their surroundings are found. These hint at the presence of a gaseous disk which is much more vertically extended than previously believed, or at a Galactic wind which may be blowing from the Galactic neighbourhood of the Sun.
- Type
- Part IV Clouds, Ionized Gas, and Particles in the Local ISM
- Information
- International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 166: The Local Bubble and Beyond , 1997 , pp. 199 - 210
- Copyright
- Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1998