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arXiv · 2510.14908

Fermi Bubbles Without AGN: Gamma-Ray Bubbles in MHD Galaxy Formation Simulations with Full Cosmic Ray Spectra

Isabel S. Sands·Philip F. Hopkins·Sam B. Ponnada
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Abstract

For the first time, we show in MHD simulations with cosmological initial conditions that bi-lobed gamma-ray outflows similar to the Fermi bubbles can form from star formation and supernova feedback, without involvement from active galactic nuclei (AGN). We use simulations run with full MHD and dynamical, on-the-fly multi-species cosmic ray transport in MeV-TeV energy bins to model gamma-ray emission in Milky Way-mass spiral galaxies from neutral pion decay, relativistic non-thermal Bremsstrahlung, and inverse Compton scattering. We find that these gamma-ray outflows are present in all three Milky-Way mass simulated galaxies. The amplitude, shape, and the composition of the gamma-ray spectrum of these bubbles fluctuates over time, with lepton-dominated and hadron-dominated phases. Spectra in which there is O(1) more gamma-ray flux from inverse Compton scattering than neutral pion decay are a good fit to the measured Fermi-LAT spectrum. Additionally, these simulations predict multi-wavelength features in soft x-rays and synchrotron radio, potentially providing new observational signatures that can connect the circumgalactic medium to cosmic ray physics and activity in the galactic center.

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Isabel S. Sands, Philip F. Hopkins, Sam B. Ponnada. 2025-10-16. Fermi Bubbles Without AGN: Gamma-Ray Bubbles in MHD Galaxy Formation Simulations with Full Cosmic Ray Spectra. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14908

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