Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field

Details Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field

2007-03-06

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703092v1

Astrophys.J.662:525-543,2007

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Accepted for publication in ApJ. 20 pages, 8 Figures, 17 tables (truncated). Complete tables included in source files

Scientific paper

10.1086/518021

We present an analysis of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and globular clusters (GCs) in five galaxies using Chandra, and HST data. Of the 186 LMXBs within the optical fields 71 are in GCs, confirming that LMXBs are formed particularly efficiently in GCs. However, there is no statistically significant correlation between the distance of a GC from the center of its host galaxy and its LMXB hosting probability. Metal-rich GCs are 3.4 times more likely to host LMXBs than metal-poor ones. Intriguingly, the LMXBs in NGC 1399 are preferentially in the reddest GCs of the metal-rich subsystem. This indicates that the red peak of the color distribution itself encompasses GCs with a range of enrichment histories. The strength of this effect varies from galaxy to galaxy, possibly indicating differences in their metal-enrichment histories. Field LMXBs in our program galaxies are more concentrated towards the center of their host galaxies than GC-LMXBs. This suggests that a majority of field LMXBs are formed in situ and have not escaped from current GCs. This is consistent with previous specific frequency based studies. The brightest LMXBs in GCs appear to be preferentially associated with luminous, metal-rich clusters. We show that it is probable that some of these GCs host multiple bright LMXBs, while the probability is much lower for metal-poor GCs. This implies that LMXBs in more metal-rich cluster systems should reveal a longer high luminosity X-ray tail, and show less X-ray variability than metal-poor cluster populations. (abridged)

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field 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 Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Probing the Formation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries in Globular Clusters and the Field will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-233873