Abstract

We present results from a study of extended X-ray emission in M33 based on archival XMM -Newton observations. We investigate the spatial and spectral properties of diffuse X-ray emission in the inner galactic disk and explore the connection between this emission and recent star formation in the galaxy. We derive the X-ray to SFR ratio in the inner disk of M33 to be 4×10³⁹ (erg/sec)/(Msun/yr), consistent with results from a sample of nearby spiral galaxies. Comparison of the X-ray images with FUV and K band images shows the diffuse X-ray emission to be equally divided between two components: one strongly correlated with star formation in the inner spiral arms, the other more uniformly distributed across the galactic disk. We show this emission to be well modelled by a clumpy thin-disk distribution, with bubbles of hot gas tracing the spiral arms.