Luminous X-Ray Sources in Arp 147

TL;DR

This study used Chandra to image the collisional galaxy Arp 147, detecting multiple luminous X-ray sources associated with star formation regions, confirming that galaxy collisions trigger high star formation rates and X-ray activity.

Contribution

First X-ray imaging of Arp 147 revealing sources linked to star formation, demonstrating the impact of galaxy collisions on X-ray source populations.

Findings

Detected 9 X-ray sources near star-forming regions

Identified a luminous source in the intruder galaxy's nucleus

Confirmed galaxy collisions trigger high X-ray luminosity sources

Abstract

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory was used to image the collisional ring galaxy Arp 147 for 42 ks. We detect 9 X-ray sources with luminosities in the range of 1.4 - 7 x 10^{39} ergs/sec in or near the blue knots of star formation associated with the ring. A source with an isotropic X-ray luminosity of 1.4 x 10^{40} ergs/sec is detected in the nuclear region of the intruder galaxy. X-ray sources associated with a foreground star and a background quasar are used to improve the registration of the X-ray image with respect to HST high resolution optical images. The intruder galaxy, which apparently contained little gas before the collision, shows no X-ray sources other than the one in the nuclear bulge which may be a poorly fed supermassive black hole. These observations confirm the conventional wisdom that collisions of gas rich galaxies trigger large rates of star formation which, in turn, generate substantial numbers of X-ray sources, some of which have luminosities above the Eddington limit for accreting stellar-mass