An H I aperture synthesis mosaic of the large magellanic cloud

We present the results of an H I aperture synthesis mosaic of the Large Mag ellanic Cloud (LMC), made by combining data from 1344 separate pointing cen ters using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA).(3) The resolution of the mosaicked images is 1.'0 (15 pc, using a distance to the LMC of 50 k pc). This mosaic, with a spatial resolution 15 times higher than that which had been previously obtained, emphasizes the turbulent and fractal structu re of the ISM on the small scale, resulting from the dynamical feedback of the star formation processes with the ISM. The structure of the neutral ato mic ISM in the LMC is dominated by H I filaments combined with numerous she lls and holes. On the large scale, the H I disk appears to be remarkably sy mmetric and to have a well-organized and orderly, if somewhat complex, rota tional field. The bulk of the H I resides in a disk 7.3 kpc in diameter. Th e mass of the disk component of the LMC is 2.5 x 10(9) M., and the upper li mit to all mass within a radius of 4 kpc is similar to 3.5 x 10(9) M..