2014ApJ...785...67A

Extended X-ray emission can be studied by spatial surface brightness measurements or by spectral analysis, but the two methods can disagree at low intensity levels. Here we present an improved method for spatial analysis that can be extended to include spectral information simultaneously. We construct a model for the entire image in a given energy band and generate a likelihood function to compare the model to the data. A critical goal is disentangling vignetted and unvignetted backgrounds through their different spatial distributions. Employing either maximum likelihood or Markov Chain Monte Carlo, we can derive probability distributions for the source and background parameters together, or we can fit and subtract the background, leaving the description of the source non-parametric. We calibrate this method against a variety of simulated images, and apply it to Chandra observations of the hot gaseous halo around the elliptical galaxy NGC 720. We follow the emission below a tenth of the background and infer a hot gas mass within 35 kpc of 4-5x10⁹ M_☉, with some indication that the profile continues to at least 50 kpc and that it steepens. We derive stronger constraints on the surface brightness profile than previous studies that employed the spectral method, and we show that the density profiles inferred from these studies are in conflict with the observed surface brightness profile. Contrary to a previous claim, we find that the X-ray halo does not contain the full complement of missing baryons within the virial radius.