Decomposing The X-ray Emission From The M31 Bulge
Abstract
We map out the bulge of M 31 using 40 <i>Chandra</i> ACIS observations. We are able to isolate discrete X-ray sources down to 5×1034 erg/s in the 0.5-8 keV band and study the remaining diffuse emission. We find that the 2-8 keV diffuse emission closely traces the K-band light in the bulge region, indicating an origin primarily in the old stellar populations, analogous to the recently proposed origin of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission by Revnivtsev et al. (2005). The 0.5-2 keV diffuse emission is also found to well follow the K-band light, but only at large radii (r > 1.4 kpc); the prominent excess at smaller radii presumably arises from hot gas, which is likely regulated by stellar feedbacks.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #208
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AAS...208.3904L