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Description
We examine the 13 most luminous sources in the WMAP free-free map using the Spitzer GLIMPSE and Midcourse Space Experiment surveys to identify massive star formation complexes, emitting one-third of the Galactic free-free luminosity. We identify star-forming complexes (SFCs) by a combination of bubble morphology in 8um emission and radio recombination line radial velocities. We find 40 SFCs associated with our WMAP sources and determine unique distances up to 31. We interpret the bubbles as evidence for radial expansion. The radial velocity distribution for each source allows us to measure the intrinsic speed of a complex's expansion. This speed is consistent with the size and age of the bubbles. The high free-free luminosities, combined with negligible synchrotron emission, demonstrate that the bubbles are not driven by supernovae. The kinetic energy of the largest bubbles is a substantial fraction of that measured in the older superbubbles found by Heiles. We find that the energy injected into the interstellar medium by our bubbles is similar to that required to maintain turbulent motion in the gas disk inside 8kpc. We report a number of new SFCs powered by massive (M_*_>10^4^M_{sun}_) star clusters. We measure the scale height of the Galactic O stars to be h_*_=35+/-5pc. We determine an empirical relationship between the 8um and free-free emission of the form F_8um_{propto}F^2^_ff_. Finally, we find that the bubble geometry is more consistent with a spherical shell rather than a flattened disk.
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