ULTRA-LUMINOUS X-RAY SOURCES IN THE MOST METAL POOR GALAXIES
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Physics Department, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete (Greece)
- Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Santa Cruz, 211 Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States)
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULX) are X-ray binaries with L{sub x} >10{sup 39} erg s{sup -1}. The most spectacular examples of ULX occur in starburst galaxies and are now understood to be young, luminous high mass X-ray binaries. The conditions under which ULX form are poorly understood, but recent evidence suggests they may be more common in low metallicity systems. Here we investigate the hypothesis that ULX form preferentially in low metallicity galaxies by searching for ULX in a sample of extremely metal poor galaxies (XMPG) observed with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. XMPG are defined as galaxies with log(O/H) + 12 < 7.65, or less than 5% solar. These are the most metal-deficient galaxies known, and a logical place to find ULX if they favor metal poor systems. We compare the number of ULX (corrected for background contamination) per unit of star formation (N{sub ULX}(SFR)) in the XMPG sample with N{sub ULX}(SFR) in a comparison sample of galaxies with higher metallicities taken from the Spitzer Infrared Galaxy Sample. We find that ULX occur preferentially in the metal poor sample with a formal statistical significance of 2.3{sigma}. We do not see strong evidence for a trend in the formation of ULX in the high metallicity sample: above 12+log(O/H) {approx} 8.0 the efficiency of ULX production appears to be flat. The effect we see is strongest in the lowest metallicity bin. We discuss briefly the implications of these results for the formation of black holes in low metallicity gas.
- OSTI ID:
- 22126593
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 769, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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