Large-scale diffuse X-ray emission from the Large Magellanic Cloud

X-ray mosaics of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) taken with the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) have revealed extensive diffuse X-ray emission, indicative of hot greater than or equal to 10(6) K gas associated with this irregular galaxy on scales from similar to 10 to greater than or equal to 1000 pc. We have selected regions of large-scale (d greater than or equal to 600 pc) diffuse X-ray emission, such as supergiant shells, the LMC Spur, and the LMC Bar, and examined the physical conditions of the hot gas associated with them. We find that for these objects the plasma temperatures range from kT similar to 0.15 to 0.60 keV and the derived electron densities range from n(e) similar to 0.005 to 0.03 cm(-3). Furthermore, we have examined the fraction of diffuse X-ray emission from the LMC and compared it to the total X-ray emission. We find that discrete sources such as X-ray binaries and supernova remnants account for similar to 41% and similar to 21% of the X-ray emission from the LMC, respectively. In contrast, diffuse X-ray emission from the field and from supergiant shells account for similar to 30% and similar to6% of the total X-ray emission, respectively.