Massive stars inject energy into the surrounding
medium and form shell structures. Bubbles are blown by
fast stellar winds from individual massive stars, while
superbubbles are blown by fast stellar winds and
supernova explosions from groups
of massive stars. Bubbles and superbubbles share a
similar overall structure: a swept-up dense shell with an
interior filled by low-density hot gas. Physical properties
of a bubble/superbubble can be affected by magnetic
field, thermal conduction, turbulent mixing,
inhomogeneous ambient medium, etc.
I will review recent progresses on observations and
compare them to theoretical expectations for (1) swept-
up dense shells, (2) hot interiors, and (3) interface
between a dense shell and
its interior hot gas. |