Abstract

view Abstract Citations (724) References (55) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Hot Coronae around Early-Type Galaxies Forman, W. ; Jones, C. ; Tucker, W. Abstract The analysis of the X-ray emission from a sample of 55 bright early-type galaxies shows that hot gaseous coronae are a common and perhaps ubiquitous feature of such systems. The X-ray emission can be explained most naturally as thermal bremsstrahlung from hot gas which may be accumulated from mass loss during normal stellar evolution. The presence of these coronae shows that matter previously thought to be expelled in a galactic wind is instead stored in a hot galactic corona which may be heated and powered by supernova explosions. Perhaps the single most important feature of these coronae is that they provide a unique tracer of the gravitational potential in the outer regions of bright early-type galaxies. In this paper the X-ray properties of these coronae and their implications for the presence of massive dark halos around individual early-type galaxies are discussed. Total masses of early-type galaxies up to 5 trillion solar masses are found. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: June 1985 DOI: 10.1086/163218 Bibcode: 1985ApJ...293..102F Keywords: Coronas; Galactic Structure; X Ray Sources; Astronomical Maps; Bremsstrahlung; Heao 2; Mass To Light Ratios; Astrophysics full text sources ADS | data products NED (57) SIMBAD (56) Related Materials (1) Erratum: 1986ApJ...300..836F