Bubbling up: AGN wind explains Fermi/eRosita bubble morphology, kinematics and X-ray emission

Although Sagittarius A* is quiescent today, the Galactic Centre bears clear evidence for past, and likely episodic, activity: X-ray echoes in molecular clouds, radio lobes and bubbles (15 pc to ~100 pc scales), X-ray chimneys, and most strikingly, the ten-kiloparsec bipolar Fermi and eRosita bubbles. The origin of the Fermi and eRosita bubbles remains debated. Here we test whether Wind driven by an active Sagittarius A* can inflate bubbles consistent with their observed morphology, line-of-sight kinematics, and X-ray emission. I will present results from a set of simulations of an AGN episode in a simplified Milky Way model using Arepo and the direct AGN wind injection scheme BOLA. We vary four key parameters - AGN luminosity, episode duration, wind velocity, and halo density - to explore the range of possible outflow morphologies and kinematics. We find that a 0.4 Myr AGN episode at ~0.4 L_Edd reproduces the observed bubble properties: their height, width, X-ray luminosity, and line-of-sight kinematics. These matches are achieved 6 Myr after the AGN episode, consistent with the bubbles' inferred age. This shows that fossil outflows exist well beyond the initial outburst.

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Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23775747
Primary Topic
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
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article
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article

Bubbling up: AGN wind explains Fermi/eRosita bubble morphology, kinematics and X-ray emission

Matas Tartėnas, Kastytis Zubovas, T. Costa
2 links
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
article

Bubbling up: AGN wind explains Fermi/eRosita bubble morphology, kinematics and X-ray emission

Matas Tartėnas, Kastytis Zubovas, T. Costa
article en

Abstract

Although Sagittarius A* is quiescent today, the Galactic Centre bears clear evidence for past, and likely episodic, activity: X-ray echoes in molecular clouds, radio lobes and bubbles (15 pc to ~100 pc scales), X-ray chimneys, and most strikingly, the ten-kiloparsec bipolar Fermi and eRosita bubbles. The origin of the Fermi and eRosita bubbles remains debated. Here we test whether Wind driven by an active Sagittarius A* can inflate bubbles consistent with their observed morphology, line-of-sight kinematics, and X-ray emission. I will present results from a set of simulations of an AGN episode in a simplified Milky Way model using Arepo and the direct AGN wind injection scheme BOLA. We vary four key parameters - AGN luminosity, episode duration, wind velocity, and halo density - to explore the range of possible outflow morphologies and kinematics. We find that a 0.4 Myr AGN episode at ~0.4 L_Edd reproduces the observed bubble properties: their height, width, X-ray luminosity, and line-of-sight kinematics. These matches are achieved 6 Myr after the AGN episode, consistent with the bubbles' inferred age. This shows that fossil outflows exist well beyond the initial outburst.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (LT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
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Bubbling up: AGN wind explains Fermi/eRosita bubble morphology, kinematics and X-ray emission — Matas Tartėnas, Kastytis Zubovas, et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS