A large catalogue of ultraluminous X-ray source candidates in nearby galaxies

Walton, D.J.; Gladstone, J.C.; Roberts, T.P.; Fabian , A.C.

Abstract

Since their discovery, Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) have attracted attention due to their combination of extreme luminosities and extra-nuclear locations. However, they are a fairly rare phenomenon, and attempts to investigate the general properties of the population have been hindered by a relative lack of known sources. Here, we present a large catalogue of ULX candidates including 655 detections of 475 discrete sources, based on the 2XMMSerendipitous Survey. To demonstrate the potential of such a resource, we present some scientific analysis of this population, focusing on the spectral turnover seen, often at ∼6 keV, in the highest quality ULX data. We also demonstrate how the recent reflection and Comptonisation interpretations of this feature may be distinguished observationally in the future, specifically using NGC4517 ULX1, a previously unanalysed source with high quality data, as an example case.

Citation

Walton, D., Gladstone, J., Roberts, T., & Fabian, A. (2011). A large catalogue of ultraluminous X-ray source candidates in nearby galaxies. Astronomical Notes, 332(4), 354-357. https://doi.org/10.1002/asna.201011498

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: May 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2012
• Journal: Astronomische Nachrichten
• Print ISSN: 0004-6337
• Electronic ISSN: 1521-3994
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 332
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 354-357
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/asna.201011498
• Keywords: Black hole physics, X-rays, Binaries.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1511450