We present an analysis of Chandra X-ray observations of a sample of eight dwarf starburst galaxies ( I Zw 18 , VII Zw 403 , NGC 1569 , NGC 3077 , NGC 4214 , NGC 4449 , NGC 5253 , and He 2–10 ) .
Extended , diffuse X-ray emission is detected in all but two of the objects .
Unresolved sources were found within all dwarf galaxies ( total : 55 sources ) .
These point sources are well fit by power law , thermal plasma , or black body models .
Ten of the point sources exceed an X-ray luminosity of 10 ^ { 39 } erg s ^ { -1 } ( ultraluminous X-ray sources ) .
In those galaxies where diffuse X-ray emission is detected , this emission ( with X-ray luminosities ranging from 4 \times 10 ^ { 38 } erg s ^ { -1 } to 2 \times 10 ^ { 40 } erg s ^ { -1 } ) contains most ( 60-80 per cent ) of the X-ray photons .
This diffuse emission can be well fit by MeKaL one-temperature thermal plasma models once the contribution from the unresolved point sources is subtracted properly .
The diffuse X-ray component is significantly extended , reaching as far as 0.5 - 5 kpc into the outskirts of their hosts .
Azimuthally averaged X-ray surface brightness profiles are well approximated by exponential functions .
Temperatures of various regions within the galaxies range from 1.6 - 7.6 \times 10 ^ { 6 } K. With few exceptions , temperatures of the hot gas are remarkably uniform , hovering around 2 - 3 \times 10 ^ { 6 } K. Temperatures of the coronal gas in the outer regions are in general \sim 2 - 3 times lower than those found in the central regions .
Fits to the diffuse emission do not allow strong constraints to be put on the metallicities of the emitting plasmas .
However , the derived metallicities are compatible with those determined from their H ii regions .
An \alpha / Fe ratio of \sim 2 is indicated for the hot gas within at least three objects ( NGC 1569 , NGC 4449 , and He 2–10 ) .
Shadowing of the diffuse X-ray emission by the cooler disc gas is used to constrain the orientation of the galaxies .