Probing the GC-LMXB connection in NGC 1399: a wide-field study with HST and Chandra

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between globular clusters and low mass X-ray binaries in NGC 1399 using high-resolution observations, revealing key factors influencing LMXB formation and distribution.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the formation and distribution of LMXBs in elliptical galaxies, emphasizing the roles of GC properties and galaxy light.

Findings

LMXBs are preferentially hosted by bright, red GCs.

GC hosting LMXBs follow the radial distribution of GCs.

Field LMXBs match the host galaxy light, indicating in situ formation.

Abstract

We present a wide field study of the Globular Clusters/Low Mass X-ray Binary (LMXB) connection in the giant elliptical NGC1399. The large FOV of the ACS/WFC, combined with the HST and Chandra high resolution, allow us to constrain the LMXB formation scenarios in elliptical galaxies. We confirm that NGC1399 has the highest LMXB fraction in GCs of all nearby elliptical galaxies studied so far, even though the exact value depends on galactocentric distance due to the interplay of a differential GC vs galaxy light distribution and the GC color dependence. In fact LMXBs are preferentially hosted by bright, red GCs out to $>5 R_{eff}$ of the galaxy light. The finding that GC hosting LMXBs follow the radial distribution of their parent GC population, argues against the hypothesis that the external dynamical influence of the galaxy affects LMXB formation in GCs. On the other hand field LMXBs closely match the host galaxy light, thus indicating that they are originally formed in situ and not inside GCs. We measure GC structural parameters, finding that the LMXB formation likelihood is influenced independently by mass, metallicity and GCs structural parameters. In particular the GC central density plays a major role in predicting which GC host accreting binaries. Finally our analysis shows that LMXBs in GCs are marginally brighter than those in the field, and in particular the only color-confirmed GC with $L_X>10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ shows no variability, which may indicate a superposition of multiple LMXBs in these systems.