X-Rays from the Nearby Compact Emission-line Galaxy NGC 2366

Abstract

Luminous, compact emission-line galaxies (LCGs) are the most abundant class of confirmed Lyman continuum (LyC) emitters. An optical integral field study of the nearby LCG NGC 2366 reveals an outflow originating at the star cluster “knot B” thought to clear a channel via mechanical feedback that enables LyC escape. We observed NGC 2366 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and detected X-ray emission from a point source coincident with the apex of the outflow at knot B. The pointlike nature and variability of the X-ray emission suggests accretion onto a compact object. The accretion could produce sufficient kinetic energy to power the outflow.

Keywords

• Blue compact dwarf galaxies
• Galaxy winds
• H II regions
• X-ray binary stars
• Reionization
• Starburst galaxies