A possible reconnection heating in NGC 6946
Abstract
The grand-design face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 apart from its high star formation activity and a massive northern spiral arm, presents "magnetic arms", visible in radio continuum polarization and located between the optical arms. We used X-ray observations of NGC 6946 performed with the XMM-Newton space observatory to disentangle and characterize the emission from point-like sources and extended hot gas from the disk, the "magnetic arms" and the halo. The properties of the hot gas found in and above the "magnetic arms" show indications for gas heating by reconnection, as well as an efficient gas transport from the disk into the halo along the vertical component of the halo magnetic fields.
- Publication:
-
The X-ray Universe 2017
- Pub Date:
- October 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017xru..conf..340W