Origin of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission

Details Origin of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission Origin of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission

Jun 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006a%26a...452..169r&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 452, Issue 1, June II 2006, pp.169-178

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

86

Stars: Binaries: General, Galaxy: Bulge, Galaxy: Disk, X-Rays: General, X-Rays: Stars

Scientific paper

We analyze a map of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission (GRXE) constructed in the 3-20 keV energy band from RXTE/PCA scan and slew observations. We show that the GRXE intensity follows the Galactic near-infrared surface brightness closely and thus traces the Galactic stellar mass distribution. The GRXE consists of two spatial components that can be identified with the bulge/bar and the disk of the Galaxy. The parameters of these components determined from X-ray data are compatible with those derived from near-infrared data. The inferred ratio of X-ray to near-infrared surface brightness I_3{-20 keV}(10-11 erg s-1 cm-2 deg-2)/I3.5 μ m(MJy/sr) = 0.26±0.05, and the ratio of X-ray to near-infrared luminosity L3-20 keV/L3-4 μ m= (4.1±0.3)×10-5. The corresponding ratio of the 3-20 keV luminosity to the stellar mass is L_x/M= (3.5±0.5) × 1027 erg s-1 M&sun;-1, which agrees within the uncertainties with the cumulative emissivity per unit stellar mass of point X-ray sources in the Solar neighborhood, determined in an accompanying paper (Sazonov et al.). This suggests that the bulk of the GRXE is composed of weak X-ray sources, mostly cataclysmic variables and coronally active binaries. The fractional contributions of these classes of sources to the total X-ray emissivity determined from the Solar neighborhood data can also explain the GRXE energy spectrum. Based on the luminosity function of local X-ray sources we predict that, in order to resolve 90% of the GRXE into discrete sources, a sensitivity limit of ˜10-16 erg s-1 cm-2 (2-10 keV) will need to be reached in future observations.

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