Abstract
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offers an excellent laboratory to study the physical structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) because of its proximity, nearly face-on orientation, and small foreground and internal extinction. Optical and radio surveys of the LMC ISM have revealed interstellar structures of sizes ranging from a few parsecs to over 1000 parsecs. ROSAT X-ray mosaics of the LMC have detected abundant 106 K hot gas, some of which is bounded by large shell structures while the rest does not appear to be associated with any visible interstellar structure. The X-ray observations have been analyzed to determine the physical conditions of the hot gas. The distribution of the hot gas can be compared to those of the cooler gas and massive stars, in order to determine the production mechanism of the hot gas. UV observations of interstellar absorption lines of high ions, such as C IV, N V, and O VI, can be used to study the interfaces between the 106 K gas and cooler ionized gas, and to provide constraints on the location of 10 6 K gas with respect to the cooler gas along the line of sight.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 262-269 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica: Serie de Conferencias |
| Volume | 9 |
| State | Published - 2000 |
| Event | Astrophysical Plasmas: Codes, Models, and Observations - Mexico City, Mexico Duration: Oct 25 1999 → Oct 29 1999 |
Keywords
- H II regions
- ISM: bubbles
- ISM: structure
- Magellanic clouds
- Supernova remnants
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Space and Planetary Science
- Astronomy and Astrophysics