A new method for determining the sensitivity of X-ray imaging observations and the X-ray number counts

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel, efficient method for assessing X-ray imaging sensitivity that accounts for observational biases, enabling large-scale source count analysis and insights into the X-ray background composition.

Contribution

A new bias-corrected technique for X-ray sensitivity estimation is developed, allowing large-area source count measurements without extensive simulations.

Findings

Determined the break flux in 5-10 keV band for the first time.

Identified an upturn in 0.5-2 keV counts below 6e-17 erg/s/cm^2.

Estimated the fraction of the X-ray background resolved into point sources.

Abstract

We present a new method for determining the sensitivity of X-ray imaging observations, which correctly accounts for the observational biases that affect the probability of detecting a source of a given X-ray flux, without the need to perform a large number of time consuming simulations. We use this new technique to estimate the X-ray source counts in different spectral bands (0.5-2, 0.5-10, 2-10 and 5-10keV) by combining deep pencil-beam and shallow wide-area Chandra observations. The sample has a total of 6295 unique sources over an area of $\rm 11.8deg^2$ and is the largest used to date to determine the X-ray number counts. We determine, for the first time, the break flux in the 5-10 keV band, in the case of a double power-law source count distribution. We also find an upturn in the 0.5-2keV counts at fluxes below about 6e-17erg/s/cm2. We show that this can be explained by the emergence of normal star-forming galaxies which dominate the X-ray population at faint fluxes. The fraction of the diffuse X-ray background resolved into point sources at different spectral bands is also estimated. It is argued that a single population of Compton thick AGN cannot be responsible for the entire unresolved X-ray background in the energy range 2-10keV.