Chandra and Swift Follow-up Observations of the Intermediate Mass Black Hole in ESO243-49

TL;DR

This study uses Chandra and Swift observations to refine the position and environment of the intermediate mass black hole candidate HLX-1 in ESO 243-49, supporting its classification and environmental context.

Contribution

It provides precise localization and environmental analysis of HLX-1, confirming its association with ESO 243-49 and supporting the intermediate mass black hole hypothesis.

Findings

Chandra determined HLX-1's position with 0.3" accuracy.

No UV source detected at the position down to magnitude 20.25.

UV emission suggests HLX-1 is near a star-forming region.

Abstract

The brightest Ultra-Luminous X-ray source HLX-1 in the galaxy ESO 243-49 provides strong evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. As the luminosity and thus the mass estimate depend on the association of HLX-1 with ESO 243-49, it is essential to confirm its affiliation. This requires follow-up investigations at wavelengths other than X-rays, which in-turn needs an improved source position. To further reinforce the intermediate mass black hole identification, it is necessary to determine HLX-1's environment to establish whether it could potentially form and nourish a black hole at the luminosities observed. Using the High Resolution Camera onboard Chandra, we determine a source position of RA=01h10m28.3s and Dec=-46d04'22.3". A conservative 95% error of 0.3" was found following a boresight correction by cross-matching the positions of 3 X-ray sources in the field with the 2MASS catalog. Combining all Swift UV/Optical Telescope uvw2 images, we failed to detect a UV source at the Chandra position down to a 3sigma limiting magnitude of 20.25 mag. However, there is evidence that the UV emission is elongated in the direction of HLX-1. This is supported by archival data from GALEX and suggests that the far-UV emission is stronger than the near-UV. This could imply that HLX-1 may be situated near the edge of a star forming region. Using the latest X-ray observations we deduce the mass accretion rate of a 500 Msun black hole with the observed luminosity and show that this is compatible with such an environment.