Chandra High-Resolution Camera observations of the luminous X-ray source in the starburst galaxy M82

Kaaret, Philip; Prestwich, Andrea; Zezas, A.; Murray, S. S.; Kim, D.-W.; Kilgard, R. E.; Schlegel, Eric M.; Ward, M. J.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04064.x

Cited by 256 publications

(271 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…We therefore concluded that M82 is likely to harbor an AGN, in agreement with Ptak & Griffiths (1999) and Matsumoto & Tsuru (1999). Meanwhile, subsequent observations with Chandra at about 1A spatial resolution suggest that a highly variable source about 9A o † the nucleus, which is dominating the hard X-ray Ñux, is compatible with a mid-mass black hole candidate (Kaaret et al 2001 ;Matsumoto et al 2001). If this can be proven, it would explain the location of M82 in Figure 3 since the same kind of physics is applied.…”

Section: Mirèx-ray Correlationsupporting

confidence: 64%

N‐Band Imaging of Seyfert Nuclei and the Mid‐Infrared–X‐Ray Correlation

Krabbe¹,

Maiolino²

2001

ApJ

111

118

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We present new mid-infrared (N-band) images of a sample of eight nearby Seyfert galaxies. In all of our targets, we detect a central unresolved source, which in some cases has been identiÐed for the Ðrst time. In particular, we have detected the mid-infrared emission from the active nucleus of NGC 4945, which previously remained undetected at any wavelength but hard X-rays. We also detect circumnuclear extended emission in the Circinus galaxy along its major axis and Ðnd marginal evidence for extended circumnuclear emission in NGC 3281. The high spatial resolution of our data allows us to separate (1A .7) the Ñux of the nuclear point sources from the extended circumnuclear starburst (if present). We complement our sample with literature data for a number of nonactive starburst galaxies and relate the nuclear N-band Ñux to published hard (2È10 keV) X-ray Ñuxes. We Ðnd tight and well-separated correlations between the nuclear N-band Ñux and X-ray Ñux for both Seyfert and starburst nuclei that span over 3 orders of magnitude in luminosity. We demonstrate that these correlations can be used as a powerful classiÐcation tool for galactic nuclei. For example, we Ðnd strong evidence against NGC 1808 currently harboring an active Seyfert nucleus based on its position in the mid-infraredÈX-ray diagram. On the other hand, we conÐrm that NGC 4945 is in fact a Seyfert 2 galaxy.

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Section: Mirèx-ray Correlationsupporting

confidence: 64%

N‐Band Imaging of Seyfert Nuclei and the Mid‐Infrared–X‐Ray Correlation

Krabbe¹,

Maiolino²

2001

ApJ

111

118

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“…Similarly, simple photon counting arguments for high-excitation optical line emission regions near ULXs make the same argument (Pakull & Mirioni 2002;Kaaret et al 2004). The source for which most evidence stacks up is M82 X-1, which through a combination of its extreme luminosity (L X,peak ∼ 10 41 erg s −1 ), co-location with the young, dense stellar cluster MGG 11, and QPO detections is the best known candidate for an IMBH (Kaaret et al 2001;Strohmayer & Mushotzky 2003;Portegies Zwart et al 2004;Mucciarelli et al 2006). However, it is possible this source is an atypical ULX; it may be the nucleus of an accreted dwarf galaxy (King & Dehnen 2005).…”

Section: A New Class Of Black Holes?mentioning

confidence: 80%

X-ray observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources

Roberts

2007

Astrophys Space Sci

179

187

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Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are amongst the most intriguing of X-ray source classes. Their extreme luminosities -greater than 10 39 erg s −1 in the 0.3 -10 keV band alone -suggest either the presence of black holes larger than those regularly encountered in our own Galaxy (the Galactic centre excepted), or sources apparently radiating well above the Eddington limit. We review the insights afforded us by studies of their X-ray emission, focussing on what this reveals about the underlying compact object. In particular, we discuss recent deep observations of ULXs by the XMMNewton observatory, and how the unprecedented data quality provided by this mission is starting to discriminate between the different physical models for these extraordinary X-ray emitters.

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“…One pertinent finding is that starburst galaxies often contain ULXs (e.g., Kilgard et al 2002 for a minisurvey; for M82 see Matsumoto et al 2001, Kaaret et al 2001, and Griffiths et al 2000; for the Antennae [NGC 4038/39], see Fabbiano, Zezas, & Murray 2001; for the Circinus galaxy see Bauer et al 2001 andSmith &; for NGC 3256 see Lira et al 2002; and for NGC 3628 see Strickland et al 2001). This finding strongly suggests that many ULXs are associated with ongoing star formation and perhaps with massive stars.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…One of the most intriguing and puzzling classes of X-ray source comprises the so-called ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), whose luminosities (>10 39 ergs s À1 , sometimes greater than 10 40 ergs s À1 ) considerably exceed the Eddington luminosity of a neutron star (e.g., Fabbiano 1996;Makishima et al 2000 and references therein). An ULX may be a stellar mass black hole radiating near or above the Eddington luminosity (Begelman 2002), a stellar mass black hole or neutron star with beamed X-ray emission (Reynolds et al 1997;King et al 2001;Körding, Falcke, & Markoff 2002), or an intermediate-mass ($100 M or higher, but smaller than those in AGNs) black hole radiating near or lower than the Eddington luminosity Kaaret et al 2001). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Luminous X‐Ray Source Population in M51 Observed withChandra

Terashima

Wilson

2004

ApJ

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We present the results of two Chandra observations (separated by 1 yr) of the population of X-ray sources in the spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194 and NGC 5195). One hundred and thirteen X-ray sources have been detected in an 8A4 Â 8A4 (20:4 Â 20:4 kpc) region, and 84 and 12 of them project within the disks of NGC 5194 and NGC 5195, respectively. Nine and 28 sources have luminosities exceeding 1 Â 10 39 ergs s À1 (ultraluminous X-ray sources or ULXs) and 1 Â 10 38 ergs s À1 in the 0.5-8 keV band, respectively, assuming that they are associated with M51. The number of ULXs is much higher than found in most normal spiral and elliptical galaxies. Most of the X-ray sources and all seven of the ULXs in NGC 5194 are located in, or close to, a spiral arm, suggesting a connection with recent star formation. The cumulative luminosity function of the X-ray sources in NGC 5194 with Lð0:5 8 keVÞ > 10 38 ergs s À1 is well described by a power law, N ½>L(0.5-8 keVÞ / L(0.5-8 keV) À with ¼ 0:91. The X-ray spectra of most of the detected sources are consistent with a power law with a photon index between 1 and 2, with a few sources showing harder or softer spectra. The spectra of most ULXs are consistent with both a power law and a multicolor disk blackbody (MCD) model, while a power-law model is preferable to an MCD model in two ULXs. One ULX (NGC 5194 source 69) shows drastic spectral steepening accompanied by a decline in luminosity by a factor of 3460 in the 2-10 keV band between the two observations. This source also exhibited a possible period of 2.1 hr in the 2000 observation. Another ULX (NGC 5194 source 26) shows strong emission lines from highly ionized species. The masses of the compact objects and mass accretion rates in ULXs and other X-ray sources are not well constrained by these observations. If we adopt an MCD interpretation, their MCD parameters imply that most of the X-ray sources are stellar mass ($5-10 M ) black holes accreting near or above the Eddington rate, although other possibilities (intermediate-mass black holes and relativistically beamed emission) cannot be excluded. The power-law sources may instead represent Comptonized disk or nonthermal emission. Two ULXs have very soft spectra; MCD models require kT % 0:1 keV. We discuss the possibility that this soft emission originates in an accretion disk around an intermediate-mass black hole. We also present a study of the nucleus of, and discrete sources (including two ULXs) in, the companion galaxy NGC 5195.

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Chandra High-Resolution Camera observations of the luminous X-ray source in the starburst galaxy M82

Cited by 256 publications

References 41 publications

N‐Band Imaging of Seyfert Nuclei and the Mid‐Infrared–X‐Ray Correlation

N‐Band Imaging of Seyfert Nuclei and the Mid‐Infrared–X‐Ray Correlation

X-ray observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources

The Luminous X‐Ray Source Population in M51 Observed withChandra

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