| Recent measurements of a relatively high mass for the LMC imply that it should host a massive Corona, a collisionally ionized, warm-hot gaseous halo at the virial temperature (∼10^5.4K) initially extending out to the virial radius (100 - 130 kpc). Such a Corona would have shaped and fed the formation of the Magellanic Stream (e.g. Lucchini et al. 2020, Nature). We have found direct observational evidence for this Corona via highly ionized oxygen (O VI), and indirect detections via C IV and Si IV, seen in UV absorption toward background quasars using data from HST and FUSE (Krishnarao et al. 2022, Nature). We find that the Corona is part of a pervasive multiphase CGM seen in many ionization states with a declining projected radial profile out to at least 35 kpc from the LMC for the hotter gas, while much more truncated to 18 kpc for cooler gas phases (Mishra et al. in prep.). These results demonstrate that the LMC’s cool CGM is composed of two components: a compact inner halo extending to 18 kpc, and a more extended stripped region associated with the Stream. The strong interactions between the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way result in a complex mixture of gas with many interface layers at distinct temperatures and densities and influences the formation of the Stream and a bow shock at the front-side of the LMC. Finding the Corona and pervasive, multiphase CGM is a crucial step forward in characterizing this infalling Group and its nested evolution with the Local Group and helps diagnose the impact of galactic-scale winds emerging from star formation feedback in the LMC. |
