NuSTAR, XMM-Newton and Suzaku Observations of the Ultraluminous X-ray Source Holmberg II X-1

TL;DR

This study presents broadband X-ray observations of Holmberg II X-1, revealing a steep high-energy spectrum, high accretion rates, and the need for an additional emission component, likely from a hot corona, expanding understanding of ULX spectral states.

Contribution

First broadband 0.3-25 keV X-ray observations of Holmberg II X-1, revealing spectral features and high-energy emission components not explained by simple disk models.

Findings

Holmberg II X-1 exhibits a steep high-energy spectrum similar to other ULXs.

The source accretes at or above its Eddington limit.

An additional high-energy emission component is necessary, likely from Compton scattering in a hot corona.

Abstract

We present the first broadband 0.3-25.0 kev X-ray observations of the bright ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) Holmberg II X-1, performed by NuSTAR, XMM-Newton and Suzaku in September 2013. The NuSTAR data provide the first observations of Holmberg II X-1 above 10 keV, and reveal a very steep high-energy spectrum, similar to other ULXs observed by NuSTAR to date. These observations further demonstrate that ULXs exhibit spectral states that are not typically seen in Galactic black hole binaries. Comparison with other sources implies that Holmberg II X-1 accretes at a high fraction of its Eddington accretion rate, and possibly exceeds it. The soft X-ray spectrum (E<10 keV) appears to be dominated by two blackbody-like emission components, the hotter of which may be associated with an accretion disk. However, all simple disk models under-predict the NuSTAR data above ~10 keV and require an additional emission component at the highest energies probed, implying the NuSTAR data does not fall away with a Wien spectrum. We investigate physical origins for such an additional high-energy emission component, and favor a scenario in which the excess arises from Compton scattering in a hot corona of electrons with some properties similar to the very-high state seen in Galactic binaries. The observed broadband 0.3-25.0 keV luminosity inferred from these epochs is Lx = (8.1+/-0.1)e39 erg/s, typical for Holmberg II X-1, with the majority of the flux (~90%) emitted below 10 keV.