DISCRETE X-RAY SOURCES BETWEEN M 81 AND NGC 3077

We propose a 30ks XMMNewton observation of the tidal interaction region betweenthe galaxies M 81 and NGC 3077. This region contains an overdensity of Xraysources (Bi, Arp, and Zimmermann 1994) in and around the HI bridge between thegalaxies. Our observation will 1) determine whether these sources are indeedassociated with the M 81 system, 2) examine the physical nature of the sources(e.g. distinguish XRBs from SNRs), and 3) study differences in the Xraypopulations of the tidal debris region and NGC 3077, and how this relates to thestar formation history of the M 81 system. We also request a 10ks Chandra HRCobservation in order to obtain subarcsecond astrometry for the Xray sources,which will allow us to search for optical counterparts. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]