The high energy X-ray probe: resolved X-ray populations in extragalactic environments

Lehmer, Bret D.; Garofali, Kristen; Binder, Breanna A.; Fornasini, Francesca; Vulic, Neven; Zezas, Andreas; Hornschemeier, Ann; Lazzarini, Margaret; Moon, Hannah; Venters, Toni; Wik, Daniel; Yukita, Mihoko; Bachetti, Matteo; García, Javier A.; Grefenstette, Brian; Madsen, Kristin; Mori, Kaya; Stern, Daniel

doi:10.3389/fspas.2023.1293918

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As a result, XRB population studies are important indicators of the population of GW sources. In the future, X-ray probes with high-E (E > 10 keV) sensitivity such as HEX-P (Madsen et al 2019;Lehmer et al 2023) will allow for this type of characterization using energies above 10 keV with even better spatial resolution, expanding our reach to more distant galaxies where NuSTAR is unable to resolve individual sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A NuSTAR Census of the X-Ray Binary Population of the M31 Disk

Moon,

Wik,

Antoniou

et al. 2024

ApJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using hard (E > 10 keV) X-ray observations with NuSTAR, we are able to differentiate between the accretion states, and thus compact object types, of neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs) in X-ray binaries (XRBs) in M31, our nearest Milky Way–type neighbor. Using 10 moderate-depth (20–50 ks) observations of the disk of M31 covering a total of ∼0.45 deg2, we detect 20 sources at 2σ in the 4–25 keV bandpass, 14 of which we consider to be XRB candidates. This complements an existing, deeper (100–400 ks) survey covering ∼0.2 deg2 of the bulge and the northeastern disk. We make tentative classifications of nine of these sources with the use of diagnostic color–intensity and color–color diagrams, which separate sources into various NS and BH regimes, identifying three BHs and six NSs. In addition, we create X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) for both the full (4–25 keV) and hard (12–25 keV) bands, as well as subpopulations of the full band based on compact object type and association with globular clusters. Our best-fit globular cluster XLF is shallower than the field XLF, and preliminary BH and NS XLFs suggest a difference in shape based on compact object type. We find that the cumulative disk XLFs in the full and hard band are best fit by power laws with indices of 1.32 and 1.28, respectively. This is consistent with models of the Milky Way XLF from Grimm et al., Voss & Ajello, and Doroshenko et al.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A NuSTAR Census of the X-Ray Binary Population of the M31 Disk

Moon,

Wik,

Antoniou

et al. 2024

ApJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…HEX-P will vastly improve the BH-XRB population statistics due to its ability to resolve more point sources in nearby galaxies than, for example, NuSTAR. Lehmer et al (2023) show, via simulations of HEX-P observations of extragalactic binaries, that HEX-P will be capable of detecting ∼100 BH-XRBs above 4-25 keV luminosities of 10 37 erg s −1 and ∼10 above 4-25 keV luminosities of 10 38 erg s −1 , per nearby galaxy (from a sample of hundreds of galaxies). We therefore expect a sizeable population of extragalactic BH-XRBs to perform statistical studies, including X-ray spectral modeling.…”

Section: Black Hole X-ray Binaries In Nearby Galaxiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…With HEX − P's improvements in angular resolution (≥4× better than NuSTAR) and sensitivity, detailed broadband studies of BH-XRBs in other galaxies are finally within reach (see Lehmer et al, 2023, for detailed simulations of resolved X-ray source populations in nearby galaxies). To date, X-ray spectra have been obtained for only a small number of BH-XRBs with similar properties to those in our Galaxy (e.g., hard or soft spectral states, sub-Eddington luminosities, etc.).…”

Section: Black Hole X-ray Binaries In Nearby Galaxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, this source is clearly in the category of BH-XRBs rather than being an ultraluminous X-ray source. Figure 7 shows simulated spectra for the case of a BH transient like MAXI J1820+070 in M31 (at 765 kpc) observed by HEX-P for 1 Ms (such an observation may be plausible with HEX-P as part of planned deep surveys of XRB populations in nearby galaxies, see Lehmer et al, 2023). The flux is near 2 × 10 −12 erg cm −2 s −1 , and HEX-P will be capable of obtaining high-quality spectra.…”

Section: Black Hole X-ray Binaries In Nearby Galaxiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): probing accretion onto stellar mass black holes

Connors,

Tomsick,

Draghis

et al. 2024

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Accretion is a universal astrophysical process that plays a key role in cosmic history, from the epoch of reionization to galaxy and stellar formation and evolution. Accreting stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries are one of the best laboratories to study the accretion process and probe strong gravity—and most importantly, to measure the angular momentum, or spin, of black holes, and its role as a powering mechanism for relativistic astrophysical phenomena. Comprehensive characterization of the disk-corona system of accreting black holes, and their co-evolution, is fundamental to measurements of black hole spin. Here, we use simulated data to demonstrate how key unanswered questions in the study of accreting stellar-mass black holes will be addressed by the High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P). HEX-P is a probe-class mission concept that will combine high spatial resolution X-ray imaging and broad spectral coverage (0.2–80 keV) with a sensitivity superior to current facilities (including XMM-Newton and NuSTAR) to enable revolutionary new insights into a variety of important astrophysical problems. We illustrate the capability of HEX-P to: 1) measure the evolving structures of black hole binary accretion flows down to low (≲ 0.1%) Eddington-scaled luminosities via detailed X-ray reflection spectroscopy; 2) provide unprecedented spectral observations of the coronal plasma, probing its elusive geometry and energetics; 3) perform detailed broadband studies of stellar mass black holes in nearby galaxies, thus expanding the repertoire of sources we can use to study accretion physics and determine the fundamental nature of black holes; and 4) act as a complementary observatory to a range of future ground and space-based astronomical observatories, thus providing key spectral measurements of the multi-component emission from the inner accretion flows of black hole X-ray binaries.

show abstract

The high energy X-ray probe (HEX-P): science overview

García,

Stern,

Madsen

et al. 2024

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To answer NASA’s call for a sensitive X-ray observatory in the 2030s, we present the High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) mission concept. HEX-P is designed to provide the required capabilities to explore current scientific questions and make new discoveries with a broadband X-ray observatory that simultaneously measures sources from 0.2 to 80 keV. HEX-P’s main scientific goals include: 1) understand the growth of supermassive black holes and how they drive galaxy evolution; 2) explore the lower mass populations of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and stellar-mass black holes in the nearby universe; 3) explain the physics of the mysterious corona, the luminous plasma close to the central engine of accreting compact objects that dominates cosmic X-ray emission; and 4) find the sources of the highest energy particles in the Galaxy. These goals motivate a sensitive, broadband X-ray observatory with imaging, spectroscopic, and timing capabilities, ensuring a versatile platform to serve a broad General Observer (GO) and Guest Investigator (GI) community. In this paper, we present an overview of these mission goals, which have been extensively discussed in a collection of more than a dozen papers that are part of this Research Topic volume. The proposed investigations will address key questions in all three science themes highlighted by Astro2020, including their associated priority areas. HEX-P will extend the capabilities of the most sensitive low- and high-energy X-ray satellites currently in orbit and will complement existing and planned high-energy, time-domain, and multi-messenger facilities in the next decade.

show abstract

The high energy X-ray probe: resolved X-ray populations in extragalactic environments

Cited by 3 publications

References 81 publications

A NuSTAR Census of the X-Ray Binary Population of the M31 Disk

A NuSTAR Census of the X-Ray Binary Population of the M31 Disk

The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): probing accretion onto stellar mass black holes

The high energy X-ray probe (HEX-P): science overview

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About