Fermi and eRosita bubbles as relics of the past activity of the Galactic black hole

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified model explaining the origin of the Fermi and eRosita bubbles and microwave haze as relics of a past energetic outburst from the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, supported by numerical simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model linking multiple Galactic center structures to a single black hole outburst, supported by detailed numerical simulations.

Findings

Successfully reproduces the morphology of observed bubbles and haze

Constrains the energetics and timescales of the past outburst

Provides insights into the Milky Way's black hole activity history

Abstract

The newly launched X-ray satellite, eRosita, has recently revealed two gigantic bubbles extending to ~80 degrees above and below the Galactic center. The morphology of these "eRosita bubbles" bears a remarkable resemblance to the Fermi bubbles previously discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and its counterpart, the microwave haze. The physical origin of these striking structures has been intensely debated; however, because of their symmetry about the Galactic center, they likely originate from some energetic outbursts from the Galactic center in the past. Here we propose a theoretical model in which the eRosita bubbles, Fermi bubbles, and the microwave haze could be simultaneously explained by a single event of jet activity from the central supermassive black hole a few million years ago. Using numerical simulations, we show that this model could successfully reproduce the morphology and multi-wavelength spectra of the observed bubbles and haze, which allows us to derive critical constraints on the energetics and timescales of the outburst. This study serves as an important step forward in our understanding of the past Galactic center activity of our Milky Way Galaxy, and may bring valuable insights into the broader picture of supermassive black hole-galaxy co-evolution in the context of galaxy formation.