An H (alpha) survey aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in halos of edge-on spiral galaxies I. How common are gaseous halos among non-starburst galaxies?

First results from a deep XMM-Newton observation of a field in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) near the northern rim of the supergiant shell LMC 4 are presented. Spectral and temporal analyses of a sample of selected X-ray sources yielded two new candidates for supernova remnants, a supersoft X-ray source and a likely high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) pulsar. From the fourteen brightest sources ten exhibit power-law X-ray spectra with slopes compatible to those of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the background of the LMC. Their AGN nature is further supported by the lack of optical counterparts brighter than B~18 mag. From the three previously known HMXBs the Be/X-ray binary was the brightest source in the field, allowing a more detailed analysis of its X-ray spectrum and pulse profile. During the pulse shows eclipses of the X-ray emitting areas with increased photo-electric absorption before and after the eclipse. The detection of X-ray pulsations with a period of 69.2 s is confirmed for and a possible period of 272 s is discovered from . The results are discussed with respect to individual sources as well as in the view of source population studies in the vicinity of the supergiant shell LMC 4.