Detection of 125.5-day Optical Periodic Modulation of the Neutron Star M51 ULX-8

TL;DR

This study identifies an optical counterpart to the neutron star ULX-8 in M51, revealing a 125.5-day periodic modulation and flux variability, suggesting the optical emission likely originates from the accretion disk.

Contribution

First detection of a 125.5-day optical periodicity in ULX-8, providing insights into its accretion processes and optical flux variability.

Findings

Optical counterpart C3 shows 125.5-day periodic modulation.

Optical fluxes of C3 exhibit bi-modal distribution.

Possible correlation between optical and X-ray flux variabilities.

Abstract

Studying Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in the optical wavelengths provides important clues about the accretion mechanisms and the evolutionary processes of X-ray binary systems. In this study, three (C1, C2, and C3) possible optical counterparts were identified for well-known neutron star (NS) candidate M51 ULX-8 through advanced astrometry based on the Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope, HST) observations, as well as the GAIA optical source catalogue. Optical periodic modulation of 125.5 days with an amplitude of 0.14 magnitude was determined for C3 which has evidence to represent the optical nature of ULX-8 using one-year (2016-2017) 34 HST ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys)/WFC (Wide Field Camera) observations. Moreover, surprisingly, the observed optical fluxes of C3 exhibit a bi-modal distribution. This could mean that there is a possible correlation between the optical and the X-ray flux variabilities of the ULX-8. The possible scenarios which are frequently mentioned in the literature proposed for the nature of optical emission and optical super-orbital period. The most probable scenario is that the optical emission could have originated from the accretion disk of the ULX-8.