A Complete Sample of ULX Host Galaxies
Douglas A. Swartz, Roberto Soria, Allyn F. Tennant, Mihoko Yukita

TL;DR
This study compiles a complete sample of 107 ultraluminous X-ray sources in nearby galaxies, analyzing their distribution, luminosity function, and implications for the existence of extremely luminous ULXs.
Contribution
It provides the first comprehensive, volume-limited analysis of ULX host galaxies and their luminosity distribution, challenging claims of superluminous ULXs.
Findings
ULXs occur at specific rates related to galaxy mass and star formation.
The ULX luminosity function follows a power law with an exponential cutoff.
Extremely luminous ULXs (>2×10^41 erg/s) are unlikely to be common in the local universe.
Abstract
One hundred seven ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) sources with 0.3-10.0 keV luminosities in excess of 1e39 erg/s are identified in a complete sample of 127 nearby galaxies. The sample includes all galaxies within 14.5 Mpc above the completeness limits of both the Uppsala Galaxy Catalog and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite survey. The galaxy sample spans all Hubble types, a four decade range in mass and in star-formation rate. ULXs are detected in this sample at rates of one per 3.2e10 solar mass, one per 0.5 solar mass/year star-formation rate, and one per 57 cubic Mpc corresponding to a luminosity density of ~2e37 erg/s/Mpc3. At these rates we estimate as many as 19 additional ULXs remain undetected in fainter dwarf galaxies within the survey volume. An estimated 14 or 13%, of the 107 ULX candidates are expected to be background sources. The differential ULX luminosity function shows a…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstronomy and Astrophysical Research · Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation · Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing
