An H i Aperture Synthesis Mosaic of the Large Magellanic Cloud
S. Kim, L. Staveley-Smith, M. A. Dopita, K. C. Freeman, R. J. Sault, M. J. Kesteven, D. McConnell;
ApJ, 1998, 503, 674
ABSTRACT:We present the results of an H I aperture synthesis mosaic of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), made by combining data from 1344 separate pointing
centers using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA).
3 The resolution
of the mosaicked images is 1.'0 (15 pc, using a distance to the LMC of 50
kpc).
This mosaic, with a spatial resolution 15 times higher than that which had
been previously obtained, emphasizes the turbulent and fractal structure
of the ISM on the small scale, resulting from the dynamical feedback of the
star formation processes with the ISM.
The structure of the neutral atomic
ISM in the LMC is dominated by H I filaments combined with numerous shells
and holes.
On the large scale, the H I disk appears to be remarkably
symmetric and to have a well-organized and orderly, if somewhat complex,
rotational field.
The bulk of the H I resides in a disk 7.3 kpc in diameter.
The mass
of the disk component of the LMC is 2.5 x 109 M&sun;, and the upper limit to
all mass within a radius of 4 kpc is ~3.5 x 109 M&sun;.
KEYWORDS: galaxies: ism, galaxies: structure, galaxies: magellanic clouds, radio lines: galaxies, surveys
CODE: kim98