Total X-ray Emission from the LMC Observed with HaloSat
We constrain the LMC’s global parameters by modeling the first soft X-ray (0.4–6.8 keV) observations of the entire Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) produced in a single pointing with moderate spectral resolution by the HaloSat CubeSat. These data are best fit with the sum of two thermal plasma components in collisional ionization equilibrium and a power-law. We find cool (0.210±0.014keV) and hot (0.89±0.14keV) components. The LMC’s total X-ray luminosity is(1.08±0.14)×1039erg s−1.X-ray binaries make up a large fraction of the emission with a luminosity of(6.0±0.8)×1038ergs−1, followed by cool gas from superbubbles, supernovae, and diffuse emission with a luminosity of(3.0±0.3)×1038erg s−1. The hot gas from star formation contributes the smallest fraction, with a luminosity of(1.9±0.5)×1038erg s−1. We estimate the total volume of the cool gas to be between(0.2–1.2)×1010pc3and the hot gas to be between(1.0–5)×107pc3for filling factors off= 1and0.2. These volumes result in a total thermal energy for the cool gas between (1.4–3)×1054ergs for electron densities of 0.017–0.04 cm−3, and a thermal energy for the hot gas between (1.7–4)×1053ergs for electron densities of 0.12–0.3 cm−3. This yields cooling timescales for the cool and hot gas of(1.5–3)×108years and(1.8–6)×107years, respectively