Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium

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The term warm / hot intergalactic medium or engl. warm – hot intergalactic medium , WHIM for short, describes an intergalactic medium in a comparatively high temperature range that fills the space between individual galaxies. For the most part, it consists of ionized hydrogen and a significant proportion of helium .

The gas (viewed astrophysical) by relatively high temperatures from K to K ionized . This condition is therefore called warm-hot . Computer simulations show that a large part of the baryonic matter in the universe currently exists in this state. For example, over the past five years the Max Planck Society has collected a lot of additional material using optical spectroscopy and large ground-based telescopes and ultraviolet spectroscopy from space data that is currently being evaluated. ${\displaystyle 10^{5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{7}}$

The intergalactic medium occupies the intergalactic space. The absorbance of starlight by the IGM is i. A. negligibly small.

Web links

• Missing matter found. Spectrum of Science , October 11, 2018, accessed January 23, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Renyue Cen: The Intergalactic Medium and Soft X-ray Background (pdf)

See also

• Temperature of space
• Intergalactic medium
• Intracluster medium
• Galaxy clusters
• Lyman Alpha Forest