Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...209.2704s&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #27.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, V
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Members of a subclass of X-ray sources called supersoft sources (SSSs) have luminosities greater than 1036 erg/s, soft broadband spectra, and emit little or no emission above 1 keV. Their physical natures are likely to be varied , and optical identification is key to understanding the kinds of sources that comprise SSSs. Approximately 1000 SSSs are thought to be located within the bulge of M31, and an analysis by DiStefano in 2004 idenified twenty-one near its galactic nucleus. Using archival HST data, we searched for optical counterparts for these SSSs. Although we were not able to identify a definite counterpart for any of these sources, we used color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) to analyze the photometric properties of the candidates and compare them to the properties of the optical sources within three arcseconds of the SSSs. Isochrones of varying metallicities were overlaid on these CMDs to determine the age and nature of the optical sources. In addition to this analysis, we created CMDs for all of the HST data from this region of M31, which provided the most thorough photometric analysis of its nuclear area. At least three of the SSSs_r1-25, r2-12, and r2-61_live in a population of highly luminous red stars, and they are most likely symbiotic binaries whose red giant donor stars emit in the optical wavelengths. The process used to identify these optical counterparts can be applied to any search for the optical identification of SSSs. Research made possible by the NSF REU program and SAO.
Barmby Pauline
Di Stefano Rosanne
Liu Jinjie
Patel Bhavin
Primini Frank
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