Iron emission line from the spiral galaxy M 101

Abstract

Archival Suzaku data of the face-on spiral galaxy M 101 were analyzed. An intense emission line at 6.72^{+0.10}_{-0.12}keV was detected in the central region. This line is identified with a K-line from He-like iron, which indicates the existence of a thin thermal plasma with a temperature of several keV. The iron line luminosity within the central 5'-radius region is estimated to be (2-12) × 10³⁷ erg s^-1. The origin of the iron emission line is discussed.