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Exploring the Nature of Weak Chandra Sources near the Galactic Centre

R. M. Bandyopadhyay·J. C. A. Miller-Jones·K. M. Blundell·F. E. Bauer·Ph. Podsiadlowski·Q. D. Wang·S. Rappaport·E. Pfahl
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Abstract

We present results from the first near-IR imaging of the weak X-ray sources discovered in the Chandra/ACIS-I survey (Wang et al. 2002) towards the Galactic Centre (GC). These ~800 discrete sources, which contribute significantly to the GC X-ray emission, represent an important and previously unknown population within the Galaxy. From our VLT observations we will identify likely IR counterparts to a sample of the hardest sources, which are most likely X-ray binaries. With these data we can place constraints on the nature of the discrete weak X-ray source population of the GC.

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R. M. Bandyopadhyay, J. C. A. Miller-Jones, K. M. Blundell, F. E. Bauer, Ph. Podsiadlowski, Q. D. Wang, S. Rappaport, E. Pfahl. 2005-01-17. Exploring the Nature of Weak Chandra Sources near the Galactic Centre. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2130261

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