An XMM-Newton Mosaic of the Hot ISM in Centaurus A

We propose a 160 ks observation (4 times 40 ks mosaic) of the large scale gascorona around the nearby radio galaxy and latestage merger Centaurus A. The CenA group is the nearest relatively massive group ( M_Gsim 10 ^{13} M _odot ),and its large scale gaseous halo has not been previously studied because of itsproximity. We will measure the temperature, density, and entropy of the gas andcharacterize its morphology to constrain the dynamics of the merger as well asthe interaction between the gas and multiple epochs of nuclear activity to adistance of sim 50 kpc from the nucleus. The distribution and dynamics of thegas on scales of tens of kpc has played a key role in determining the morphologyof the large scale radio structures. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]