X-ray Study of Star Formation in NGC 2403

Mihoko Yukita (UAH) , D. Swartz (NASA/MSFC), R. Soria (MSSL)

We present a multi-wavelength analysis of the central 6 kpc region of NGC 2403, where most of the star formation is located in the nearby, face-on, spiral galaxy. From a distance of only 3.2 Mpc, we are able to resolve an individual HII region from most observatories. This allows us to investigate the correlations between soft X-ray diffuse emission and other star-formation tracers, such as H-alpha, GALEX UV, and Spitzer Mid-IR, focusing not only on the galactic scale but also on individual HII regions. The soft X-ray emission in the central region shows internal contributions from young HII regions (< 30 Myrs) and also from extra-diffuse coronal gas, which may be accounted for by older, star-forming activities.