arXiv subjects

Natalie A. Webb

Publications and source records attributed to Natalie A. Webb.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

ULX spectra revisited: Accreting, highly magnetized neutron stars as the engines of ultraluminous X-ray sources

Aims: In light of recent discoveries of pulsating ULXs and recently introduced models, that propose neutron stars (NSs) as the central engines of ULXs, we revisit the (XMM-Newton and NuSTAR) spectra of eighteen well known ULXs, in search of indications that favor this new hypothesis. Results: We confirm the, previously noted, presence of the low energy (<6 keV) spectral rollover and argue that it could be interpreted as thermal emission. The spectra are well described by a double thermal model consisting of a "hot" (>1 keV) and a "cool" (<0.7 keV) multicolor black body (MCB). Under the assumption that the "cool" MCD emission originates in a disk truncated at the NS magnetosphere, we find that all ULXs in our sample are consistent with accretion onto a highly magnetized (B>10^12G) NS. We note a strong correlation between the strength of the magnetic field, the temperature of the "hot" thermal component and the total unabsorbed luminosity. Examination of the NuSTAR data supported this interpretation and confirmed the presence of a weak, high energy (>15 keV) tail, most likely the result of modification of the MCB emission by inverse Compton scattering. We also note that the apparent high energy tail, may simply be the result of mis-modeling of MCB emission with an atypical temperature (T) vs radius (r) gradient, using a standard MCD model with a fixed gradient of T~r^-0.75. Conclusions: We have offered a new physical interpretation for the dual-thermal spectra of ULXs. We find that the best-fit derived parameters, are in excellent agreement with recent predictions that favor super-critically accreting NSs as the engines of a large fraction of ULXs. Nevertheless, the considerable degeneracy between models and the lack of unequivocal evidence cannot rule out other equally plausible interpretations. Our results warrant further exploration of this new framework.

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arXiv2017

The slowest spinning X-ray pulsar in an extragalactic globular cluster

Neutron stars are thought to be born rapidly rotating and then exhibit a phase of a rotation-powered pulsations as they slow down to 1-10 s periods. The significant population of millisecond pulsars observed in our Galaxy is explained by the recycling concept: during an epoch of accretion from a donor star in a binary system, the neutron star is spun up to millisecond periods. However, only a few pulsars are observed during this recycling process, with relatively high rotational frequencies. Here we report the detection of an X-ray pulsar with $P_{\rm spin} = 1.20$ s in the globular cluster B091D in the Andromeda galaxy, the slowest pulsar ever found in a globular cluster. This bright (up-to 30% of the Eddington luminosity) spinning-up pulsar, persistent over the 12 years of observations, must have started accreting less than 1 Myr ago and has not yet had time to accelerate to hundreds of Hz. The neutron star in this unique wide binary with an orbital period $P_{\rm orb} = 30.5$ h in a 12 Gyr old, metal rich star cluster, accretes from a low mass, slightly evolved post-main sequence companion. We argue that we are witnessing a binary formed at relatively recent epoch by getting a $\sim 0.8M_\odot$ star in a dynamical interaction -- a viable scenario in a massive dense globular cluster like B091D with high global and specific stellar encounter rates. This intensively accreting non-recycled X-ray pulsar provides therefore a long-sought missing piece in the standard pulsar recycling picture.

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arXiv2017

Large Decay of X-ray Flux in 2XMM J123103.2+110648: Evidence for a Tidal Disruption Event

The X-ray source 2XMM J123103.2+110648 was previously found to show pure thermal X-ray spectra and a ~3.8 hr periodicity in three XMM-Newton X-ray observations in 2003-2005, and the optical spectrum of the host galaxy suggested it as a type 2 active galactic nucleus candidate. We have obtained new X-ray observations of the source, with Swift and Chandra in 2013-2016, in order to shed new light on its nature based on its long-term evolution property. We found that the source could be in an X-ray outburst, with the X-ray flux decreasing by an order of magnitude in the Swift and Chandra observations, compared with the XMM-Newton observations ten years ago. There seemed to be significant spectral softening associated with the drop of X-ray flux (disk temperature kT ~ 0.16-0.2 keV in XMM-Newton observations versus kT~0.09+-0.02 keV in the Chandra observation. Therefore the Swift and Chandra follow-up observations support our previous suggestion that the source could be a tidal disruption event (TDE), though it seems to evolve slower than most of the other TDE candidates. The apparent long duration of this event could be due to the presence of a long super-Eddington accretion phase and/or slow circularization.

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arXiv2017

A likely decade-long sustained tidal disruption event

Multiwavelength flares from tidal disruption and accretion of stars can be used to find and study otherwise dormant massive black holes in galactic nuclei. Previous well-monitored candidate flares are short-lived, with most emission confined to within ~1 year. Here we report the discovery of a well observed super-long (>11 years) luminous soft X-ray flare from the nuclear region of a dwarf starburst galaxy. After an apparently fast rise within ~4 months a decade ago, the X-ray luminosity, though showing a weak trend of decay, has been persistently high at around the Eddington limit (when the radiation pressure balances the gravitational force). The X-ray spectra are generally soft (steeply declining towards higher energies) and can be described with Comptonized emission from an optically thick low-temperature corona, a super-Eddington accretion signature often observed in accreting stellar-mass black holes. Dramatic spectral softening was also caught in one recent observation, implying either a temporary transition from the super-Eddington accretion state to the standard thermal state or the presence of a transient highly blueshifted (~0.36c) warm absorber. All these properties in concert suggest a tidal disruption event of an unusually long super-Eddington accretion phase that has never been observed before.

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arXiv2017

Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in galaxies with Low Luminosity AGN: A multiple-method approach

Aims: This work is the first stage of a campaign to search for IMBHs, in low luminosity AGN (LLAGN) and dwarf galaxies. An additional, and equally important, aim of this pilot study is to investigate the consistency between the predictions of several BH scaling relations and the fundamental plane of black hole activity (FP-BH). Methods: We use X-ray and radio luminosity relations in accreting BHs, along with the latest scaling relations between the mass of the central black hole (MBH) and the properties of its host spheroid, to predict MBH in seven LLAGN, that were previously reported to be in the IMBH regime. Namely, we use the recently re-evaluated MBH - Msph (Msph : spheroid absolute magnitude at 3.6 microm) scaling relation for spiral galaxies, the MBH - nsph (nsph : major axis Sersic index of the bulge) relation, the MBH - PA (PA: pitch angle) relation and the FP-BH for weakly accreting BHs, to independently estimate MBH in all seven galaxies. Results: We find that all LLAGN in our list have low-mass central black holes - with log MBH/Msol~6.5 on average - but they are, not IMBHs. All 4 methods used predicted consistent BH masses, in the 1sigma range. Furthermore, we report that, in contrast to previous classification, galaxy NGC 4470 is bulge-less, and cast doubts on the AGN classification of NGC 3507. Conclusions: We find that our latest, state-of-the-art techniques for bulge magnitude & Sersic index computations and the most recent updates of the MBH - Lsph, MBH - nsph , MBH - PA relations and the FP-BH produce consistent results in the low mass regime. We establish a multiple method approach for predicting BH masses in the regime where their spheres-of- grav. influence cannot be spatially resolved. Our approach mitigates against outliers from any one relation and provides a more robust average prediction. We will use our new method to revisit more IMBH candidates in LLAGN

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arXiv2016

Discovery of the Candidate Off-nuclear Ultrasoft Hyper-luminous X-ray Source 3XMM J141711.1+522541

We report the discovery of an off-nuclear ultrasoft hyper-luminous X-ray source candidate 3XMM J141711.1+522541 in the inactive S0 galaxy SDSS J141711.07+522540.8 (z=0.41827, d_L=2.3 Gpc) in the Extended Groth Strip. It is located at a projected offset of ~1.0 (5.2 kpc) from the nucleus of the galaxy and was serendipitously detected in five XMM-Newton observations in 2000 July. Two observations have enough counts and can be fitted with a standard thermal disk with an apparent inner disk temperature kT_MCD ~ 0.13 keV and a 0.28-14.2 keV unabsorbed luminosity L_X ~ 4X10^{43} erg/s in the source rest frame. The source was still detected in three Chandra observations in 2002 August, with similarily ultrasoft but fainter spectra (kT_MCD ~ 0.17 keV, L_X ~ 0.5X10^{43} erg/s). It was not detected in later observations, including two by Chandra in 2005 October, one by XMM-Newton in 2014 January, and two by Chandra in 2014 September-October, implying a long-term flux variation factor of >14. Therefore the source could be a transient with an outburst in 2000-2002. It has a faint optical counterpart candidate, with apparent magnitudes of m_F606W=26.3 AB mag and m_F814W=25.5 AB mag in 2004 December (implying an absolute V-band magnitude of ~-15.9 AB mag). We discuss various explanations for the source and find that it is best explained as a massive black hole (BH) embedded in the nucleus of a possibly stripped satellite galaxy, with the X-ray outburst due to tidal disruption of a surrounding star by the BH. The BH mass is ~10^5 Msun, assuming the peak X-ray luminosity at around the Eddington limit.

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arXiv2015

A search for hyperluminous X-ray sources in the XMM-Newton source catalog

We present a new method to identify luminous off-nuclear X-ray sources in the outskirts of galaxies from large public redshift surveys, distinguishing them from foreground and background interlopers. Using the 3XMM-DR5 catalog of X-ray sources and the SDSS DR12 spectroscopic sample of galaxies, with the help of this off-nuclear cross-matching technique, we selected 98 sources with inferred X-ray luminosities in the range $10^{41} < L_{\rm X} < 10^{44}\,{\rm erg\,s}^{-1}$, compatible with hyperluminous X-ray objects (HLX). To validate the method, we verify that it allowed us to recover known HLX candidates such as ESO 243$-$49 HLX$-$1 and M82 X$-$1. From a statistical study, we conservatively estimate that up to $71 \pm 11$ of these sources may be fore- or background sources, statistically leaving at least 16 that are likely to be HLXs, thus providing support for the existence of the HLX population. We identify two good HLX candidates and using other publicly available datasets, in particular the VLA FIRST in radio, UKIDSS in the near-infrared, GALEX in the ultra-violet and CFHT Megacam archive in the optical, we present evidence that these objects are unlikely to be foreground or background X-ray objects of conventional types, e.g. active galactic nuclei, BL Lac objects, Galactic X-ray binaries or nearby stars. However, additional dedicated X-ray and optical observations are needed to confirm their association with the assumed host galaxies and thus secure their HLX classification.

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arXiv2015

An Ultrasoft X-ray Flare from 3XMM J152130.7+074916: a Tidal Disruption Event Candidate

We report on the discovery of an ultrasoft X-ray transient source, 3XMM J152130.7+074916. It was serendipitously detected in an XMM-Newton observation on 2000 August 23, and its location is consistent with the center of the galaxy SDSS J152130.72+074916.5 (z=0.17901 and d_L=866 Mpc). The high-quality X-ray spectrum can be fitted with a thermal disk with an apparent inner disk temperature of 0.17 keV and a rest-frame 0.24-11.8 keV unabsorbed luminosity of ~5e43 erg/s, subject to a fast-moving warm absorber. Short-term variability was also clearly observed, with the spectrum being softer at lower flux. The source was covered but not detected in a Chandra observation on 2000 April 3, a Swift observation on 2005 September 10, and a second XMM-Newton observation on 2014 January 19, implying a large variability (>260) of the X-ray flux. The optical spectrum of the candidate host galaxy, taken ~11 yrs after the XMM-Newton detection, shows no sign of nuclear activity. This, combined with its transient and ultrasoft properties, leads us to explain the source as tidal disruption of a star by the supermassive black hole in the galactic center. We attribute the fast-moving warm absorber detected in the first XMM-Newton observation to the super-Eddington outflow associated with the event and the short-term variability to a disk instability that caused fast change of the inner disk radius at a constant mass accretion rate.

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arXiv2014

The Broadband XMM-Newton and NuSTAR X-ray Spectra of Two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources in the Galaxy IC 342

We present results for two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs), IC 342 X-1 and IC 342 X-2, using two epochs of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations separated by $\sim$7 days. We observe little spectral or flux variability above 1 keV between epochs, with unabsorbed 0.3--30 keV luminosities being $1.04^{+0.08}_{-0.06} \times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-1 and $7.40\pm0.20 \times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-2, so that both were observed in a similar, luminous state. Both sources have a high absorbing column in excess of the Galactic value. Neither source has a spectrum consistent with a black hole binary in low/hard state, and both ULXs exhibit strong curvature in their broadband X-ray spectra. This curvature rules out models that invoke a simple reflection-dominated spectrum with a broadened iron line and no cutoff in the illuminating power-law continuum. X-ray spectrum of IC 342 X-1 can be characterized by a soft disk-like black body component at low energies and a cool, optically thick Comptonization continuum at high energies, but unique physical interpretation of the spectral components remains challenging. The broadband spectrum of IC 342 X-2 can be fit by either a hot (3.8 keV) accretion disk, or a Comptonized continuum with no indication of a seed photon population. Although the seed photon component may be masked by soft excess emission unlikely to be associated with the binary system, combined with the high absorption column, it is more plausible that the broadband X-ray emission arises from a simple thin blackbody disk component. Secure identification of the origin of the spectral components in these sources will likely require broadband spectral variability studies.

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arXiv2013

Classification of X-ray Sources in the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalog: Objects of Special Interest

We analyze 18 sources that were found to show interesting properties of periodicity, very soft spectra and/or large long-term variability in X-rays in our project of classification of sources from the 2XMMi-DR3 catalog but were poorly studied in the literature, in order to investigate their nature. Two hard sources show X-ray periodicities of ~1.62 hr (2XMM J165334.4-414423) and ~2.1 hr (2XMM J133135.2-315541) and are probably magnetic cataclysmic variables. The source 2XMM J123103.2+110648 is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidate showing very soft X-ray spectra (kT~0.1 keV) and exhibiting an intermittent ~3.8 hr quasi-periodic oscillation. There are six other very soft sources (with kT<0.2 keV), which might be in other galaxies with luminosities between ~10^{38}-10^{42} erg/s. They probably represent a diverse group that might include objects such as ultrasoft AGNs and cool thermal disk emission from accreting intermediate-mass black holes. Six highly variable sources with harder spectra are probably in nearby galaxies with luminosities above 10^{37} erg/s and thus are great candidates for extragalactic X-ray binaries. One of them (2XMMi J004211.2+410429, in M 31) is probably a new-born persistent source, having been X-ray bright and hard in 0.3--10 keV for at least four years since it was discovered to enter an outburst in 2007. Three highly variable hard sources appear at low galactic latitudes and have maximum luminosities below ~10^{34} erg/s if they are in our Galaxy, thus great candidates for cataclysmic variables or very faint X-ray transients harboring a black hole or neutron star. Our interpretations of these sources can be tested with future long-term X-ray monitoring and multi-wavelength observations.

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arXiv2013

A ~3.8 hour Periodicity from an Ultrasoft Active Galactic Nucleus Candidate

Very few galactic nuclei are found to show significant X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). After carefully modeling the noise continuum, we find that the ~3.8 hr QPO in the ultrasoft active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidate 2XMM J123103.2+110648 was significantly detected (~5sigma) in two XMM-Newton observations in 2005, but not in the one in 2003. The QPO rms is very high and increases from ~25% in 0.2-0.5 keV to ~50% in 1-2 keV. The QPO probably corresponds to the low-frequency type in Galactic black hole X-ray binaries, considering its large rms and the probably low mass (~10^5 msun) of the black hole in the nucleus. We also fit the soft X-ray spectra from the three XMM-Newton observations and find that they can be described with either pure thermal disk emission or optically thick low-temperature Comptonization. We see no clear X-ray emission from the two Swift observations in 2013, indicating lower source fluxes than those in XMM-Newton observations.

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arXiv2013

The ultraluminous X-ray sources NGC 1313 X-1 and X-2: a broadband study with NuSTAR and XMM-Newton

We present the results of NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of the two ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) NGC 1313 X-1 and X-2. The combined spectral bandpass of the two satellites enables us to produce the first spectrum of X-1 between 0.3 and 30 keV, while X-2 is not significantly detected by NuSTAR above 10 keV. The NuSTAR data demonstrate that X-1 has a clear cutoff above 10 keV, whose presence was only marginally detectable with previous X-ray observations. This cutoff rules out the interpretation of X-1 as a black hole in a standard low/hard state, and it is deeper than predicted for the downturn of a broadened iron line in a reflection-dominated regime. The cutoff differs from the prediction of a single-temperature Comptonization model. Further, a cold disk-like black body component at ~0.3 keV is required by the data, confirming previous measurements by XMM-Newton only. We observe a spectral transition in X-2, from a state with high luminosity and strong variability to a lower-luminosity state with no detectable variability, and we link this behavior to a transition from a super-Eddington to a sub-Eddington regime.

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arXiv2013

Discovery of a Highly Variable Dipping Ultraluminous X-ray source in M94

We report the discovery of a new ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) 2XMM J125048.6+410743 within the spiral galaxy M94. The source has been observed by ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton on several occasions, exhibiting as a highly variable persistent source or a recurrent transient with a flux variation factor of >100, a high duty cycle (at least ~70%), and a peak luminosity of Lx ~ 2X10^{39} erg/s (0.2-10 keV, absorbed). In the brightest observation, the source is similar to typical low-luminosity ULXs, with the spectrum showing a high-energy cutoff but harder than that from a standard accretion disk. There are also sporadical short dips, accompanied by spectral softening. In a fainter observation with Lx ~ 3.6X10^{38} erg/s, the source appears softer and is probably in the thermal state seen in Galactic black-hole X-ray binaries (BHBs). In an even fainter observation (Lx ~ 9X10^{37} erg/s), the spectrum is harder again, and the source might be in the steep-powerlaw state or the hard state of BHBs. In this observation, the light curve might exhibit ~7 hr (quasi-)periodic large modulations over two cycles. The source also has a possible point-like optical counterpart from HST images. In terms of the colors and the luminosity, the counterpart is probably a G8 supergiant or a compact red globular cluster containing ~2X10^5 K dwarfs, with some possible weak UV excess that might be ascribed to accretion activity. Thus our source is a candidate stellar-mass BHB with a supergiant companion or with a dwarf companion residing in a globular cluster. Our study supports that some low-luminosity ULXs are supercritically accreting stellar-mass BHBs.

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arXiv2013

Combined Analysis of Hubble and VLT Photometry of the Intermediate Mass Black Hole ESO 243-49 HLX-1

In this paper we present a combined analysis of data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Very Large Telescope (VLT), and Swift X-ray telescope (XRT) of the intermediate mass black hole ESO 243-49 HLX-1 that were taken 2 months apart between September and November 2010. Previous separate analyses of these data found that they were consistent with an irradiated accretion disc with contribution from either a very young or very old stellar population, and also indicated that the optical flux of the HLX-1 counterpart could be variable. Such variability could only be attributed to a varying accretion disc, so simultaneous analysis of all data sets should break the degeneracies in the model fits. We thus simultaneously fit the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) from near-infrared through to X-ray wavelengths of the two epochs of data with a model consisting of an irradiated accretion disc and a stellar population. We show that this combined analysis rules out an old stellar population, finding that the SED is dominated by emission from an accretion disc with moderate reprocessing in the outer disc around an intermediate mass black hole imbedded in a young (20 Myr) stellar cluster with a mass of 1E5 Msun. We also place an upper limit on the mass of an additional hidden old stellar population of 1E6 Msun. However, optical r-band observations of HLX-1 obtained with the Gemini-South telescope covering part of the decay from a later X-ray outburst are consistent with constant optical flux, indicating that the observed variability between the HST and VLT observations could be spurious caused by differences in the background subtraction applied to the two optical data sets. In this scenario the contribution of the stellar population, and thus the stellar mass of the cluster, may be higher (abridged).

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arXiv2013

Measurement of the Radius of Neutron Stars with High S/N Quiescent Low-mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters

This paper presents the measurement of the neutron star (NS) radius using the thermal spectra from quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries (qLMXBs) inside globular clusters (GCs). Recent observations of NSs have presented evidence that cold ultra dense matter -- present in the core of NSs -- is best described by "normal matter" equations of state (EoSs). Such EoSs predict that the radii of NSs, Rns, are quasi-constant (within measurement errors, of ~10%) for astrophysically relevant masses (Mns > 0.5 Msun). The present work adopts this theoretical prediction as an assumption, and uses it to constrain a single Rns value from five qLMXB targets with available high signal-to-noise X-ray spectroscopic data. Employing a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo approach, we produce the marginalized posterior distribution for Rns, constrained to be the same value for all five NSs in the sample. An effort was made to include all quantifiable sources of uncertainty into the uncertainty of the quoted radius measurement. These include the uncertainties in the distances to the GCs, the uncertainties due to the Galactic absorption in the direction of the GCs, and the possibility of a hard power-law spectral component for count excesses at high photon energy, which are observed in some qLMXBs in the Galactic plane. Using conservative assumptions,we found that the radius, common to the five qLMXBs and constant for a wide range of masses, lies in the low range of possible NS radii, Rns=9.1(+1.3)(-1.5) km (90%-confidence). Such a value is consistent with low-res equations of state. We compare this result with previous radius measurements of NSs from various analyses of different types of systems. In addition, we compare the spectral analyses of individual qLMXBs to previous works.

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arXiv2013

XMM-Newton Observations of the TeV γ-ray Source HESS J1804-216

We have analyzed three XMM-Newton observations of the central part of the unidentified TeV γ-ray source HESS J1804-216. We focus on two X-ray sources 2XMMi J180442.0-214221 (Src 1) and 2XMMi J180432.5-214009 (Src 2), which were suggested to be the possible X-ray counterparts to the TeV source. We discover a 2.93 hr X-ray periodicity from Src 1, with the pulse profile explained with a self-eclipsing pole in an eclipsing polar. Src 2 exhibits a strong Fe emission line (FWHM ~0.3 keV and equivalent width ~0.8 keV) and large X-ray variability on timescales of hours and is probably an intermediate polar. Thus Src 1 and Src 2 are probably two field sources not responsible for the TeV emission. The observations were contaminated by strong straylight from a nearby bright source, and we see no clear extended X-ray emission that can be attributed to the supernova remnant G8.7-0.1, a popular possible association with the TeV source. The other possible association, the pulsar wind nebula candidate PSR J1803-2137, shows little long-term variability, compared with a previous Chandra observation. Many point sources were serendipitously detected, but most of them are probably normal stars. Three new candidate compact object systems (other than Src 1, Src 2 and PSR J1803-2137) are also found. They are far away from the TeV source and are probably also magnetic cataclysmic variables, thus unlikely to be responsible for the TeV emission.

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arXiv2012

Classification of X-ray Sources in the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalog

We carry out classification of 4330 X-ray sources in the 2XMMi-DR3 catalog. They are selected under the requirement of being a point source with multiple XMM-Newton observations and at least one detection with the signal-to-noise ratio larger than 20. For about one third of them we are able to obtain reliable source types from the literature. They mostly correspond to various types of stars (611), active galactic nuclei (AGN, 753) and compact object systems (138) containing white dwarfs, neutron stars, and stellar-mass black holes. We find that about 99% of stars can be separated from other source types based on their low X-ray-to-IR flux ratios and frequent X-ray flares. AGN have remarkably similar X-ray spectra, with the power-law photon index centered around 1.91+-0.31, and their 0.2-4.5 keV flux long-term variation factors have a median of 1.48 and 98.5% less than 10. In contrast, 70% of compact object systems can be very soft or hard, highly variable in X-rays, and/or have very large X-ray-to-IR flux ratios, separating them from AGN. Using these results, we derive a source type classification scheme to classify the other sources and find 644 candidate stars, 1376 candidate AGN and 202 candidate compact object systems, whose false identification probabilities are estimated to be about 1%, 3% and 18%, respectively. There are still 320 associated with nearby galaxies and 151 in the Galactic plane, which we expect to be mostly compact object systems or background AGN. We also have 100 candidate ultra-luminous X-ray sources. They are found to be much less variable than other accreting compact objects.

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arXiv2011

X-ray Variability and Hardness of ESO 243-49 HLX-1: Clear Evidence for Spectral State Transitions

The ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source ESO 243-49 HLX-1 currently provides the strongest evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. We conduct an ongoing monitoring campaign with the Swift X-ray Telescope and found that HLX-1 showed two fast rise and exponential decay with increases in the count rate of a factor ~40 separated by 375+/-13 days. We obtained new XMM-Newton and Chandra dedicated pointings that were triggered at the lowest and highest luminosities, respectively. The unabsorbed luminosities ranged from 1.9x10^40 to 1.25x10^42 erg/s. We confirm here the detection of spectral state transitions from HLX-1 reminiscent of Galactic black hole binaries: at high luminosities, the X-ray spectrum showed a thermal state dominated by a disk component with temperatures of 0.26 keV at most, and at low luminosities the spectrum is dominated by a hard power law with a photon index in the range 1.4-2.1, consistent with a hard state. The source was also observed in a steep power law state. In the thermal state, the luminosity of the disk component appears to scale with the fourth power of the inner disk temperature which supports the presence of an optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk. The low fractional variability (rms of 9+/-9%) in this state also suggests the presence of a dominant disk. The spectral changes and long-term variability of the source cannot be explained by variations of the beaming angle and are not consistent with the source being in a super-Eddington accretion state. HLX-1 is thus an unusual ULX as it is similar to Galactic black hole binaries, which have non-beamed and sub-Eddington emission, but with luminosities 3 orders of magnitude higher. In this picture, a lower limit on the mass of the black hole of >9000 M_sun can be derived, and the disk temperature in the thermal state also suggests the presence of a black hole of a few 10^3 M_sun.

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