Finding persistent sources with the BeppoSAX/WFC: a in-depth analysis

TL;DR

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of BeppoSAX/WFC data, resulting in an unbiased catalog of 404 persistent X-ray sources, including 10 potentially new detections, by applying techniques similar to those used in INTEGRAL/IBIS surveys.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, unbiased method for detecting faint persistent X-ray sources in BeppoSAX/WFC data, expanding the known source catalog significantly.

Findings

Recovered 182 more sources than previous catalogs

Detected 404 sources in the 3-17 keV range

Identified 10 sources not seen by newer telescopes

Abstract

During the operational life of the Italian/Dutch X-ray satellite (1996-2002), BeppoSAX, its two Wide Field Cameras performed observations that covered the full sky at different epochs. Although the majority of analysis performed on BeppoSAX WFC data concentrated on the detection of transient sources, we have now applied the same techniques developed for the INTEGRAL/IBIS survey to produce the same work with the BeppoSAX WFC data. This work represents the first unbiased source list compilation produced from the overall WFC data set optimised for faint persistent sources detection. This approach recovers 182 more sources compared to the previous WFC catalogue reported in Verrecchia et al. (2007). The catalogue contains 404 sources detected between 3-17 keV, 10 of which are yet to be seen by the new generation of telescopes.