Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997mnras.287...10w&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 287, Issue 1, pp. 10-20.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
11
Galaxies: Individual: M31, Galaxies: Ism, X-Rays: Galaxies
Scientific paper
We present the results of a search for diffuse 0.5-2.0keV band X-ray emission in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) using data acquired with the ROSAT PSPC and HRI during pointed observations with a total exposure of more than 600ks. For the most part we concentrate our study in a region of radius 19.3kpc (100 arcmin) in the plane of M31 and greater than ~1kpc (5 arcmin) from the core. After removing detected point-like sources and other effects of instrumental and cosmic background, we find a residual signal within the survey region which exceeds the extrapolation of the distribution of observed point-like sources to luminosities below our sensitivity threshold. Fits to the surface brightness maps have allowed us to identify two distinct spatial components in the residual: a spherical core and a disc with a scalelength of ~5kpc. Our study yields the first detection of emission in the disc of M31 that cannot be explained by the detected point-source population. The disc contributes around 45 per cent of our total diffuse signal. We show that this emission from the disc is consistent with that expected from the normal stellar population, and confirm the excess observed in the core by other workers. We place limits on the mass of hot diffuse gas in the disc of M31 and on the luminosity of an extended halo component in our survey region. We discuss the implications for models of the 0.5-2.0keV X-ray background within the Milky Way.
Barber C. R.
Folgheraiter E. L.
West Richard G.
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