Stacking Star Clusters in M51: Searching for Faint X-Ray Binaries

TL;DR

This study investigates faint X-ray binaries in M51 using Chandra and Hubble data, finding no significant detections through stacking, and highlights the need for deeper observations to detect these low-luminosity sources.

Contribution

It applies stacking analysis to search for faint X-ray binaries in M51's star clusters, providing upper limits and comparing populations with the Milky Way.

Findings

No significant X-ray detection in stacked data.

Upper luminosity limits for star clusters established.

Deeper observations needed for faint source detection.

Abstract

The population of low-luminosity (< 10^35 erg/s) X-Ray Binaries (XRBs) has been investigated in our Galaxy and M31 but not further. To address this problem, we have used data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate the faint population of XRBs in the grand-design spiral galaxy M51. A matching analysis found 25 star clusters coincident with 20 X-ray point sources within 1.5" (60 pc). From X-ray and optical color-color plots we determine that this population is dominated by high-mass XRBs. A stacking analysis of the X-ray data at the positions of optically-identified star clusters was completed to probe low-luminosity X-ray sources. No cluster type had a significant detection in any X-ray energy band. An average globular cluster had the largest upper limit, 9.23 x 10^34 erg/s, in the full-band (0.3 - 8 keV) while on average the complete sample of clusters had the lowest upper limit, 6.46 x 10^33 erg/s in the hard-band (2 - 8 keV). We determined average luminosities of the young and old star cluster populations and compared the results to those from the Milky Way. We conclude that deeper X-ray data is required to identify faint sources with a stacking analysis.