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Chandra reveals a black-hole X-ray binary within the ultraluminous supernova remnant MF 16

T. P. Roberts·E. J. M. Colbert
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Abstract

We present evidence, based on Chandra ACIS-S observations of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946, that the extraodinary X-ray luminosity of the MF 16 supernova remnant actually arises in a black-hole X-ray binary. This conclusion is drawn from the point-like nature of the X-ray source, its X-ray spectrum closely resembling the spectrum of other ultraluminous X-ray sources thought to be black-hole X-ray binary systems, and the detection of rapid hard X-ray variability from the source. We briefly discuss the nature of the hard X-ray variability, and the origin of the extreme radio and optical luminosity of MF 16 in light of this identification.

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T. P. Roberts, E. J. M. Colbert. 2003-04-01. Chandra reveals a black-hole X-ray binary within the ultraluminous supernova remnant MF 16. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06670.x

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