HEAD 2000, November 2000
Session 18. Cluster Surveys/Galaxies
Oral, Tuesday, November 7, 2000, 1:00-2:30pm, Pago Pago Ballroom

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[18.05] The X-ray Starburst Zoo: Chandra observations of four starburst galaxies displaying a range of properties

M.J Ward (X-ray Group, University of Leicester, England), A. Zezas (CfA, Cambridge, Mass, USA), P. Lira (X-ray Group, University of Leicester, England), A. Prestwich, S. Murray (CfA, Cambridge, Mass, USA), A. Alonso-Herrero (University of Hertfordshire, Herts, England), S. Ueno (NASDA, Japan)

Imaging starburst galaxies in X-rays using CXO has dramatically improved our ability to separate point sources from extended emission, and hence to study the discrete source populations. We have examined four very different examples: the nearby starburst galaxy M82, a large spiral galaxy with a nuclear starburst NGC1808, and two very luminous examples of interacting systems, NGC3256 and NGC6240. These examples represent very different views of the X-ray phenomenon in starbursts. Super-Eddington sources are seen in M82 and NGC3256, with many more in the latter galaxy, presumably reflecting its high bolometric luminosity. NGC6240 is known to habor an AGN, however the Chandra results reveal the extended X-ray emission associated with the starburst. Our results emphasize the complexity and multicomponent nature of starburst galaxies viewed in X-rays.



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