Skip to main content
Article
Chandra Detection of a Hot Gaseous Corona around the Edge-on Galaxy NGC 4631
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
  • QD Wang, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  • S Immler
  • R Walterbos
  • JT Lauroesch
  • D Breitschwerdt
Publication Date
2001
Abstract

We present a Chandra X-ray observation that shows, unambiguously for the first time, the presence of a giant diffuse X-ray-emitting corona around the edge-on disk galaxy NGC 4631. This corona, with a characteristic thermal temperature of × 106 K, extends as far as 8 kpc away from the galactic plane. The X-ray morphology resembles the radio halo of the galaxy, indicating a close connection between outflows of hot gas, cosmic rays, and the magnetic field from the galactic disk. Enhanced diffuse X-ray emission is apparently enclosed by numerous Hα-emitting loops blistered out from the central disk of the galaxy, as is evident in a comparison with our deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging.

Comments

This is the pre-published version harvested from ArXiv. The published version is located at http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-4357/555/2/L99/

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/323179
Pages
L99
Citation Information
QD Wang, S Immler, R Walterbos, JT Lauroesch, et al.. "Chandra Detection of a Hot Gaseous Corona around the Edge-on Galaxy NGC 4631" The Astrophysical Journal Letters Vol. 555 Iss. 2 (2001)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/daniel_wang/52/