Origin of the diffuse 4-8 keV emission in M82

Vol. 673
4. Extragalactic astronomy

Origin of the diffuse 4-8 keV emission in M82

The starburst galaxy M82 is the poster child for stellar feedback in a hyperactive galactic nucleus. This study uses hard diffuse line and continuum X-ray emission to tease out the details of the interactions between the different actors in this complex environment. They find that contributions from nonthermal inverse Compton emission is a significant fraction of the X-ray emission, along with hot thermal gas. An important result is that the strongest supernova remnants are embedded within giant molecular clouds, and hence the future is bright. Another notable result is that this hot gas is connected with the chimney outflow from the supernova-heated starburst zone.