2013/02/05 by J. C. Higdon, R. E. Lingenfelter · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Galactic Center #Galactic corona #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Milky Way #Spatial distribution #Spiral galaxy #Star formation #Stars #Supernova #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/775/2/110
Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal, 22 January 2013
arxiv created 2013/02/05 · openalex publication_date 2013/09/12 · arxiv updated 2015/06/12 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Galactic spatial distribution of OB associations and their surrounding superbubbles (SBs) reflect the distribution of a wide range of important processes in our Galaxy. In particular, it can provide a three-dimensional measure not only of the major source distribution of Galactic cosmic rays, but also the Galactic star formation distribution, the Lyman continuum ionizing radiation distribution, the core-collapse supernova distribution, the neutron star and stellar black hole production distribution, and the principal source distribution of freshly synthesized elements. Thus, we construct a three-dimensional spatial model of the massive-star distribution based primarily on the emission of the H ii envelopes that surround the giant SBs and are maintained by the ionizing radiation of the embedded O stars. The Galactic longitudinal distribution of the 205 μm N ii radiation, emitted by these H ii envelopes, is used to infer the spatial distribution of SBs. We find that the Galactic SB distribution is dominated by the contribution of massive-star clusters residing in the spiral arms.