Deep Chandra observations ( 53 ks , ACIS–S3 ) of NGC 3077 , a starburst dwarf galaxy in the M 81 triplet , resolve the X–ray emission from several supershells .
The emission is brightest in the cavities defined by expanding shells detected previously in H \alpha emission ( Martin 1998 ) .
Thermal emission models fitted to the data imply temperatures ranging from \sim 1.3 to 4.9 \times 10 ^ { 6 } K and indicate that the strongest absorption is coincident with the densest clouds traced by CO emission .
The fitted emission measures give pressures of P / k \approx 10 ^ { 5 - 6 } \xi ^ { -0.5 } f _ { v } ^ { -0.5 } K cm ^ { -3 } ( \xi : metallicity of the hot gas in solar units , f _ { v } : volume filling factor ) .
Despite these high pressures , the radial density profile of the hot gas is not as steep as that expected in a freely expanding wind ( e.g. , as seen in the neighboring starburst galaxy M 82 ) implying that the hot gas is still confined by the H \alpha shells .
The chaotic dynamical state of NGC 3077 undermines reliable estimates of the escape velocity .
The more relevant quantity for the ultimate fate of the outflow is probably the gas density in the rich intragroup medium .
Based on the H i distribution of NGC 3077 and a connected tidal tail we argue that the wind has the potential to leave the gravitational well of NGC 3077 to the north but not to the south .
The total 0.3 - 6.0 keV X–ray luminosity is \sim 2 - 5 \times 10 ^ { 39 } erg s ^ { -1 } ( depending on the selected thermal plasma model ) .
Most ( \sim 85 % ) of the X–ray luminosity in NGC 3077 comes from the hot interstellar gas ; the remainder comes from six X–ray point sources .
In spite of previous claims to the contrary , we do not find X–ray emission originating from the prominent tidal tail near NGC 3077 .