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Register a new userThe Ultraluminous X-ray sources population of the galaxy NGC 7456
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Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are a class of accreting compact objects with X-ray luminosities above 1e39 erg/s. The ULX population counts several hundreds objects but only a minor fraction is well studied. Here we present a detailed analysis of all ULXs hosted in the galaxy NGC 7456. It was observed in X-rays only once in the past (in 2005) by XMM-Newton, but the observation was short and strongly affected by high background. In 2018, we obtained a new, deeper (~90 ks) XMM-Newton observation that allowed us to perform a detailed characterization of the ULXs hosted in the galaxy. ULX-1 and ULX-2, the two brightest objects (Lx~(6-10)e39 erg/s), have spectra that can be described by a two-thermal component model as often found in ULXs. ULX-1 shows also one order of magnitude in flux variability on short-term timescales (hundreds to thousand ks). The other sources (ULX-3 and ULX-4) show flux changes of at least an order of magnitude, and these objects may be candidate transient ULXs although longer X-ray monitoring or further studies are required to ascribe them to the ULX population. In addition, we found a previously undetected source that might be a new candidate ULX (labelled as ULX-5) with a luminosity of ~1e39 erg/s and hard power-law spectral shape, whose nature is still unclear and for which a background Active Galactic Nucleus cannot be excluded. We discuss the properties of all the ULXs in NGC 7456 within the framework of super-Eddington accretion onto stellar mass compact objects. Although no pulsations were detected, we cannot exclude that the sources host neutron stars.
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NGC 925 ULX-1 and ULX-2 are two ultraluminous X-ray sources in the galaxy NGC 925, at a distance of 8.5 Mpc. For the first time, we analyzed high quality, simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data of both sources. Although at a first glance ULX-1 resembles an intermediate mass black hole candidate (IMBH) because of its high X-ray luminosity ($(2$$-$$4)times10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$) and its spectral/temporal features, a closer inspection shows that its properties are more similar to those of a typical super-Eddington accreting stellar black hole and we classify it as a `broadened disc ultraluminous X-ray source. Based on the physical interpretation of this spectral state, we suggest that ULX-1 is seen at small inclination angles, possibly through the evacuated cone of a powerful wind originating in the accretion disc. The spectral classification of ULX-2 is less certain, but we disfavour an IMBH accreting at sub-Eddington rates as none of its spectral/temporal properties can be associated to either the soft or hard state of Galactic accreting black hole binaries.
We present a detailed, broadband X-ray spectral analysis of the ULX pulsar NGC 7793 P13, a known super-Eddington source, utilizing data from the $XMM$-$Newton$, $NuSTAR$ and $Chandra$ observatories. The broadband $XMM$-$Newton+NuSTAR$ spectrum of P13 is qualitatively similar to the rest of the ULX sample with broadband coverage, suggesting that additional ULXs in the known population may host neutron star accretors. Through time-averaged, phase-resolved and multi-epoch studies, we find that two non-pulsed thermal blackbody components with temperatures $sim$0.5 and $sim$1.5 keV are required to fit the data below 10 keV, in addition to a third continuum component which extends to higher energies and is associated with the pulsed emission from the accretion column. The characteristic radii of the thermal components appear to be similar, and are too large to be associated with the neutron star itself, so the need for two components likely indicates the accretion flow outside the magnetosphere is complex. We suggest a scenario in which the thick inner disc expected for super-Eddington accretion begins to form, but is terminated by the neutron stars magnetic field soon after its onset, implying a limit of $B lesssim 6 times 10^{12}$ G for the dipolar component of the central neutron stars magnetic field. Evidence of similar termination of the disc in other sources may offer a further means of identifying additional neutron star ULXs. Finally, we examine the spectrum exhibited by P13 during one of its unusual off states. These data require both a hard powerlaw component, suggesting residual accretion onto the neutron star, and emission from a thermal plasma, which we argue is likely associated with the P13 system.
Ultraluminous X-ray sources are considered amongst the most extremely accreting objects in the local Universe. The recent discoveries of pulsating neutron stars in ULXs strengthened the scenario of highly super-Eddington accretion mechanisms on stellar mass compact objects. In this work, we present the first long-term light curve of the source NGC 4559 X7 using all the available Swift, XMM-Newton, Chandra and NuSTAR data. Thanks to the high quality 2019 XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations, we investigated in an unprecedented way the spectral and temporal properties of NGC 4559 X7. The source displayed flux variations of up to an order of magnitude and an unusual flaring activity. We modelled the spectra from NGC 4559 X7 with a combination of two thermal components, testing also the addition of a further high energy cut-off powerlaw. We observed a spectral hardening associated with a luminosity increase during the flares, and a spectral softening in the epochs far from the flares. Narrow absorption and emission lines were also found in the RGS spectra, suggesting the presence of an outflow. Furthermore, we measured hard and (weak) soft lags with magnitudes of a few hundreds of seconds whose origin is possibly be due to the accretion flow. We interpret the source properties in terms of a super-Eddington accretion scenario assuming the compact object is either a light stellar mass black hole or a neutron star.
We report on the serendipitous discovery of a new transient in NGC 5907, at a peak luminosity of 6.4x10^{39} erg/s. The source was undetected in previous 2012 Chandra observations with a 3 sigma upper limit on the luminosity of 1.5x10^{38} erg/s, implying a flux increase of a factor of >35. We analyzed three recent 60ks/50ks Chandra and 50ks XMM-Newton observations, as well as all the available Swift observations performed between August 2017/March 2018. Until the first half of October 2017, Swift observations do not show any emission from the source. The transient entered the ULX regime in less than two weeks and its outburst was still on-going at the end of February 2018. The 0.3-10 keV spectrum is consistent with a single multicolour blackbody disc (kT~1.5 keV). The source might be a ~30 solar mass black hole accreting at the Eddington limit. However, although we did not find evidence of pulsations, we cannot rule-out the possibility that this ULX hosts an accreting neutron star.
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are a population of extragalactic objects whose luminosity exceeds the Eddington limit for a 10 Msun black hole (BH). Their properties have been widely interpreted in terms of accreting stellar-mass or intermediate-mass BHs. However at least three neutron stars (NSs) have been recently identified in ULXs through the discovery of periodic pulsations. Motivated by these findings we studied the spectral properties of a sample of bright ULXs using a simple continuum model which was extensively used to fit the X-ray spectra of accreting magnetic NSs in the Galaxy. We found that such a model, consisting of a power-law with a high-energy exponential cut-off, fits very well most of the ULX spectra analyzed here, at a level comparable to that of models involving an accreting BH. On these grounds alone we suggest that other non-pulsating ULXs may host NSs. We found also that above 2 keV the spectrum of known pulsating ULXs is harder than that of the majority of the other ULXs of the sample, with only IC 342 X-1 and Ho IX X-1 displaying spectra of comparable hardness. We thus suggest that these two ULXs may host an accreting NS and encourage searches for periodic pulsations in the flux.
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