X-ray Shadowing Experiments Toward Infrared Dark Clouds

We searched for X-ray shadowing toward two infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) using the MOS detectors on XMM-Newton to learn about the Galactic distribution of X-ray emitting plasma. IRDCs make ideal X-ray shadowing targets of 3/4 kev photons due to their high column densities, relatively large angular sizes, and known kinematic distances. Here we focus on two clouds near 30 deg. Galactic longitude at distances of 2 and 5 kpc from the Sun. We derive the foreground and background column densities of molecular and atomic gas in the direction of the clouds. We find that the 3/4 kev emission must be distributed throughout the Galactic disk. It is therefore linked to the structure of the cooler material of the ISM, and to the birth of stars.