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Register a new userSpectral variability of ultraluminous X-ray sources
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We study spectral variability of 11 ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) using archived XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. We use three models to describe the observed spectra: a power-law, a multi-colour disc (MCD) and a combination of these two models. We find that 7 ULXs show a correlation between the luminosity Lx and the photon index Gamma. Furthermore, 4 out of these 7 ULXs also show spectral pivoting in the observed energy band. We also find that two ULXs show an Lx-Gamma anti-correlation. The spectra of 4 ULXs in the sample can be adequately fitted with a MCD model. We compare these sources to known black hole binaries (BHB) and find that they follow similar paths in their luminosity-temperature diagrams. Finally we show that the `soft excess reported for many of these ULXs at about 0.2 keV seems to roughly follow a trend Lsoft propto T^{-3.5} when modelled with a power-law plus a `cool MCD model. This is contrary to the L propto T^4 relation that is expected from theory and what is seen for many accreting BHBs. The observed trend could instead arise from disc emission beamed by an outflowing wind around a about 10 solar mass black hole.
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We study spectral variability of 11 ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) using archived XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. We use three models to describe the observed spectra; a power-law, a multi-colour disk (MCD) and a combination of these two models. We find that out of the 11 ULXs in our sample, 7 ULXs show a correlation between the luminosity and the photon index Gamma (hereafter L-Gamma correlation). Furthermore, out of the 7 ULXs that have the L-Gamma correlation, 4 ULXs also show spectral pivoting in the observed energy band. We also find that two ULXs show an L-Gamma anti-correlation. The spectra of 4 ULXs in the sample can be adequately fitted with a MCD model. We compare these sources to known black hole binaries (BHB) and find that they follow similar paths in their luminosity-temperature (hereafter L-T) diagrams. Finally we show that the soft excess reported for many of these ULXs at 0.2 keV seem to follow a trend L propto T^{-4} when modeled with a power-law plus a cool MCD model. This is contrary to the expected L propto T^4 relation that is expected from theory and what is seen for many accreting BHBs.
A number of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are physically associated with extragalactic globular clusters (GCs). We undertake a systematic X-ray analysis of eight of the brightest of these sources. We fit the spectra of the GC ULXs to single power law and single disk models. We find that the data never require that any of the sources change between a disk and a power law across successive observations. The GC ULXs best fit by a single disk show a bimodal distribution: they either have temperatures well below 0.5 keV, or variable temperatures ranging above 0.5 keV up to 2~keV. The GC ULXs with low kT have significant changes in luminosity but show little or no change in kT. By contrast, the sources with higher kT either change in both kT and $L_X$ together, or show no significant change in either parameter. Notably, the X-ray characteristics may be related to the optical properties of these ULXs, with the two lowest kT sources showing optical emission lines.
We review observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). X-ray spectroscopic and timing studies of ULXs suggest a new accretion state distinct from those seen in Galactic stellar-mass black hole binaries. The detection of coherent pulsations indicates the presence of neutron-star accretors in three ULXs and therefore apparently super-Eddington luminosities. Optical and X-ray line profiles of ULXs and the properties of associated radio and optical nebulae suggest that ULXs produce powerful outflows, also indicative of super-Eddington accretion. We discuss models of super-Eddington accretion and their relation to the observed behaviors of ULXs. We review the evidence for intermediate mass black holes in ULXs. We consider the implications of ULXs for super-Eddington accretion in active galactic nuclei, heating of the early universe, and the origin of the black hole binary recently detected via gravitational waves.
We use XMM-Newton and Swift data to study spectral variability in the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), Holmberg IX X-1. The source luminosity varies by a factor 3-4, giving rise to corresponding spectral changes which are significant, but subtle, and not well tracked by a simple hardness ratio. Instead, we co-add the Swift data in intensity bins and do full spectral fitting with disc plus thermal Comptonisation models. All the data are well-fitted by a low temperature, optically thick Comptonising corona, and the variability can be roughly characterised by decreasing temperature and increasing optical depth as the source becomes brighter, as expected if the corona is becoming progressively mass loaded by material blown off the super-Eddington inner disc. This variability behaviour is seen in other ULX which have similar spectra, but is opposite to the trend seen in ULX with much softer spectra. This supports the idea that there are two distinct physical regimes in ULXs, where the spectra go from being dominated by a disc-corona to being dominated by a wind.
Many upcoming surveys, particularly in the radio and optical domains, are designed to probe either the temporal and/or the spatial variability of a range of astronomical objects. In the light of these high resolution surveys, we review the subject of ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) sources, which are thought to be accreting black holes for the most part. We also discuss the sub-class of ULXs known as the hyper-luminous X-ray sources, which may be accreting intermediate mass black holes. We focus on some of the open questions that will be addressed with the new facilities, such as the mass of the black hole in ULXs, their temporal variability and the nature of the state changes, their surrounding nebulae and the nature of the region in which ULXs reside.
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