Galactic Superbubbles

Introduction
NOTE: This page is in the process of being updated.

Massive stars release tremendous amounts of energy into the ISM. When energy from a massive star is expelled it will accelerate and ionize the material surrounding it, creating a hot, low density bubble. When a cluster of several massive stars evolve together, their combined winds and SN events create a superbubble (SB) that could 'blowout' from the plane of the galaxy. The expansion of a bubble or a blowout event would dramatically alter surrounding ISM magnetic field geometry. Our picture of the ISM magnetic fields is improving, but we still lack a fundamental theoretical understanding of the role magnetic fields play in the evolution of galaxies. SBs provide an important link in our understanding the of the evolution of star clusters to the evolution of the ISM and galaxy magnetic fields as a whole.