Recent Xray Observations of Disk Galaxies Tracing the Dynamic Interstellar Medium.pdfVIP

Recent X-ray Observations of Disk Galaxies: Tracing the Dynamic Interstellar Medium Q. Daniel Wang University of Massachusetts, Amherst 0 0 ABSTRACT 0 2 g I review recent results from our deep ROSAT and Chandra observations of two u galaxies, M101 and NGC 4631, in fields of exceptionally low Galactic extinction. Large A amounts of X-ray-emitting gas are detected in these galaxies. Such gas is produced 8 1 primarily in massive star forming regions and have an average characteristic temperature of a few times 106 K. Cooler gas (∼ 106 K) is found typically outside galactic disks and 1 may represent outflows from blown-out superbubbles. Propagation of star formation, v 3 driven by the expansion of hot gas, appears to be operating in giant HII complexes. A 0 substantial fraction of photo-evaporated gas in such complexes may be mass-loaded into 3 8 hot gas, which explains their large X-ray luminosities. These processes likely play an 0 important role in determining the global properties of the interstellar medium, especially 0 0 the disk/halo interaction. / h p - o 1. Introduction r t s a X-ray observations of nearby disk galaxies are important to the understanding of the hot : v interstellar medium (ISM) and its role in galaxy evolution. We are conducting an extensive study i X of the face-on spiral galaxy M101 based partly on an ultra-deep (230 ks) ROSAT HRI image, and r we have also obtained a Chandra observati