Large-scale radio nebula around the Ultra-Luminous X-ray Source IC 342 X-1

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a large radio nebula around the ULX IC 342 X-1, providing insights into the source's power and comparing it with other known nebulae, including a newly detected compact core.

Contribution

First detection of a radio nebula around ULX IC 342 X-1 and analysis of its power relative to other nebulae, including a compact core detection.

Findings

The nebula's power exceeds that of W50 by over two orders of magnitude.

A compact radio core was detected at the ULX location.

The nebula serves as a calorimeter to estimate the ULX’s intrinsic power.

Abstract

We present discovery of a radio nebula associated with the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) IC 342 X-1 using the Very Large Array (VLA). Taking the surrounding nebula as a calorimeter, one can constrain the intrinsic power of the ULX source. We compare the obtained power that is needed to supply the radio nebula with the W50 nebula powered by the microquasar SS433 and with other ULXs. We find that the power required is at least two orders of magnitude greater than that needed to power radio emission from the W50 nebula associated with the microquasar SS433. In addition, we report the detection of a compact radio core at the location of the X-ray source.