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

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

Authors

D.J. Walton

J.C. Gladstone

A.C. Fabian



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
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
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.