A deep Chandra survey for faint X-ray sources in the Galactic globular cluster M30, and searches for optical and radio counterparts

TL;DR

This study uses deep Chandra X-ray observations combined with optical and radio data to identify and classify faint X-ray sources in the globular cluster M30, revealing new sources and their potential counterparts.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive multi-wavelength catalog of X-ray sources in M30, including new classifications and insights into their spatial distribution.

Findings

23 X-ray sources cataloged in M30

18 optical counterparts identified, including new CVs and ABs

Bright CVs are more centrally concentrated than faint CVs

Abstract

We present a deep ($\sim 330~\mathrm{ks}$) {\it Chandra} survey of the Galactic globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099). Combining the new Cycle 18 with the previous Cycle 3 observations we report a total of 10 new X-ray point sources within the $1.03$ arcmin half-light radius, compiling an extended X-ray catalogue of a total of 23 sources. We incorporate imaging observations by the {\it Hubble Space Telescope} and the {\it Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array} from the MAVERIC survey to search for optical and radio counterparts to the new and old sources. Two X-ray sources are found to have a radio counterpart, including the known millisecond pulsar PSR J2140$-$2310A, the radio position of which also matches a previously reported faint optical counterpart which is slightly redder than the main sequence. We found optical counterparts to $18$ of the $23$ X-ray sources, identifying $2$ new cataclysmic variables (CVs), $5$ new CV candidates, $2$ new candidates of RS CVn type of active binary (AB), and $2$ new candidates of BY Dra type of AB. The remaining unclassified X-ray sources are likely background active galactic nuclei (AGN), as their number is consistent with the expected number of AGN at our X-ray sensitivity. Finally, our analysis of radial profiles of different source classes suggests that bright CVs are more centrally distributed than faint CVs in M30, consistent with other core-collapsed globular clusters.