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Recent evidence - in particular the hard X-ray spectra obtained by NuSTAR, and the large amplitude hard X-ray variability observed when ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) show soft spectra - reveals that common ULX behaviour is inconsistent with known sub-Eddington accretion modes, as would be expected for an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). Instead, it appears that the majority of ULXs are powered by super-Eddington accretion onto stellar-mass black holes. Here, we will review work that delves deeper into ULX spectral-timing behaviour, demonstrating it remains consistent with the expectations of super-Eddington accretion. One critical missing piece from this picture is the direct detection of the massive, radiatively-driven winds expected from ULXs as atomic emission/absorption line features in ULX spectra; we will show it is very likely these have already been detected as residuals in the soft X-ray spectra of ULXs. Finally, we will discuss ULXs that do not appear to conform to the emerging ULX behaviour patterns. In particular we discuss the implications of the identification of a good IMBH candidate as a background QSO; and the confirmation of an IMBH/ULX candidate in the galaxy NGC 2276 via the radio/X-ray fundamental plane.
We present a summary of our ongoing efforts to study one of the brightest ultraluminous X-ray source, NGC 1313 X-2. Despite a large coverage in the X-rays, much of the information we have about the source and its environment comes from optical wavele
Most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are believed to be stellar mass black holes or neutron stars accreting beyond the Eddington limit. Determining the nature of the compact object and the accretion mode from broadband spectroscopy is currently a
Most ULXs are believed to be powered by super-Eddington accreting neutron stars and, perhaps, black holes. Above the Eddington rate the disc is expected to thicken and to launch powerful winds through radiation pressure. Winds have been recently disc
We report the discovery of a third ULX in NGC 925 (ULX-3), detected in November 2017 by Chandra at a luminosity of $L_{rm X} = (7.8pm0.8)times10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Examination of archival data for NGC 925 reveals that ULX-3 was detected by Swift at
Soft Ultra-Luminous X-ray (ULXs) sources are a subclass of the ULXs that can switch from a supersoft spectral state, where most of the luminosity is emitted below 1 keV, to a soft spectral state with significant emission above 1 keV. In a few systems