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Galactic Starburst NGC 3603 from X-Rays to RadioNGC 3603 is the most massive and luminous visible starburst region in the Galaxy. We present the first Chandra/ACIS-I X-ray image and spectra of this dense, exotic object, accompanied by deep cm-wavelength ATCA radio image at similar or less than 1 inch spatial resolution, and HST/ground-based optical data. At the S/N greater than 3 level, Chandra detects several hundred X-ray point sources (compared to the 3 distinct sources seen by ROSAT). At least 40 of these sources are definitely associated with optically identified cluster O and WR type members, but most are not. A diffuse X-ray component is also seen out to approximately 2 feet (4 pc) form the center, probably arising mainly from the large number of merging/colliding hot stellar winds and/or numerous faint cluster sources. The point-source X-ray fluxes generally increase with increasing bolometric brightnesses of the member O/WR stars, but with very large scatter. Some exceptionally bright stellar X-ray sources may be colliding wind binaries. The radio image shows (1) two resolved sources, one definitely non-thermal, in the cluster core near where the X-ray/optically brightest stars with the strongest stellar winds are located, (2) emission from all three known proplyd-like objects (with thermal and non-thermal components, and (3) many thermal sources in the peripheral regions of triggered star-formation. Overall, NGC 3603 appears to be a somewhat younger and hotter, scaled-down version of typical starbursts found in other galaxies.
Document ID
20020070798
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Moffat, A. F. J. (Montreal Univ. Quebec Canada)
Corcoran, M. F. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Stevens, I. R. (Birmingham Univ. United Kingdom)
Skalkowski, G. (Montreal Univ. Quebec Canada)
Marchenko, S. V. (Montreal Univ. Quebec Canada)
Muecke, A. (Montreal Univ. Quebec Canada)
Ptak, A. (Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, PA United States)
Koribalski, B. S. (Australia Telescope National Facility Epping, Australia)
Brenneman, L. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Mushotzky, R. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
White, Nicholas E.
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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