Hot Gaseous Coronae around Spiral Galaxies: Probing the Illustris Simulation

Abstract

The presence of hot gaseous coronae around present-day massive spiral galaxies is a fundamental prediction of galaxy formation models. However, our observational knowledge remains scarce, since to date only four gaseous coronae have been detected around spirals with massive stellar bodies (≳2 × 10^(11) M_⊙. To explore the hot coronae around lower mass spiral galaxies, we utilized Chandra X-ray observations of a sample of eight normal spiral galaxies with stellar masses of (0.7-2.0)×10^(11) M_⊙. Although statistically significant diffuse X-ray emission is not detected beyond the optical radii (~20 kpc) of the galaxies, we derive 3σ limits on the characteristics of the coronae. These limits, complemented with previous detections of NGC 1961 and NGC 6753, are used to probe the Illustris Simulation. The observed 3σ upper limits on the X-ray luminosities and gas masses exceed or are at the upper end of the model predictions. For NGC 1961 and NGC 6753 the observed gas temperatures, metal abundances, and electron density profiles broadly agree with those predicted by Illustris. These results hint that the physics modules of Illustris are broadly consistent with the observed properties of hot coronae around spiral galaxies. However, one shortcoming of Illustris is that massive black holes, mostly residing in giant ellipticals, give rise to powerful radio-mode active galactic nucleus feedback, which results in under-luminous coronae for ellipticals.

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