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arXiv · 1812.11070

Different generations of HMXBs: clues about their formation efficiency from Magellanic Clouds studies

Abstract

Nearby star-forming galaxies offer a unique environment to study the populations of young ($<$100 Myr) accreting binaries. These systems are tracers of past populations of massive stars that heavily affect their immediate environment and parent galaxies. Using a Chandra X-ray Visionary program, we investigate the young neutron-star binary population in the low metallicity of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by reaching quiescent X-ray luminosity levels ($\sim$few times $10^{32}$ erg/s). We present the first measurement of the formation efficiency of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) as a function of the age of their parent stellar populations by using 3 indicators: the number ratio of HMXBs to OB stars, to the SFR, and to the stellar mass produced during the specific star-formation burst they are associated with. In all cases, we find that the HMXB formation efficiency increases as a function of time up to $\sim$40-60 Myr, and then gradually decreases.

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Vallia Antoniou, Andreas Zezas, Jeremy J. Drake, Carles Badenes, Frank Haberl, Jaesub Hong, Paul P. Plucinsky, the SMC XVP Collaboration Team. 2018-12-28. Different generations of HMXBs: clues about their formation efficiency from Magellanic Clouds studies. https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.11070

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