What Physical Processes Drive the Interstellar Medium in the Local Bubble?

Abstract

Recent 3D high-resolution simulations of the interstellar medium in a star forming galaxy like the Milky Way show that supernova explosions are the main driver of the structure and evolution of the gas. Its physical state is largely controlled by turbulence due to the high Reynolds numbers of the average flows. For a constant supernova rate a dynamical equilibrium is established within 200 Myr of simulation as a consequence of the setup of a galactic fountain. The resulting interstellar medium reveals a typical density/pressure pattern, i.e. distribution of so-called gas phases, on scales of 500–700 pc, with interstellar bubbles being a common phenomenon just like the Local Bubble and the Loop I superbubble, which are assumed to be interacting. However, modeling the Local Bubble is special, because it is driven by a moving group, passing through its volume, as it is inferred from the analysis of Hipparcos data. A detailed analysis reveals that between 14 and 19 supernovae have exploded during the last 15 Myr. The age of the Local Bubble is derived from comparison with Hi and UV absorption line data to be 14.5± ^0.7_0.4  Myr. We further predict the merging of the two bubbles in about 3 Myr from now, when the interaction shell starts to fragment. The Local Cloud and its companion Hi clouds are the consequence of a dynamical instability in the interaction shell between the Local and the Loop I bubble.