Luminous X-ray Source Populations in M51

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Active Galaxies And Quasars

Scientific paper

We present results of Chandra observations of the nearby (8.4 Mpc) spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194). M51 is of significant interest for its abundant luminous (>1039 ergs s-1) source populations detected in ROSAT images as well as a low-luminosity Seyfert 2 nucleus and outflows from it. Chandra observations were performed for 15 ksec in 2000 June and 25 ksec in 2001 June. In the observation in 2000, we detected some 30 discrete sources in M51 in addition to a bright nuclear region and diffuse emission distributed over the galaxy. The luminosities of 20 objects exceed 1038 ergs s-1. Five sources among them have luminosities greater than 1039 ergs s-1. If we assume a spectral shape of a power law absorbed by the Galactic column, hardness ratios of most objects are consistent with photon indices between 1 and 2 which suggest these objects are black hole binaries or luminous super novae. Two sources have very soft spectra (photon index >3) and are possibly black holes in the soft state or hot gas heated by collective supernovae. We discuss more detailed spectral results, variability, and luminosity function using the two observations in 2000 and 2001.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Luminous X-ray Source Populations in M51 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Luminous X-ray Source Populations in M51, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Luminous X-ray Source Populations in M51 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1163886

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.