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Optical Environments of M51 X-ray Sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2006

Roy E. Kilgard ,
Andrea H. Prestwich ,
Martin J. Ward  and
Timothy P. Roberts
Roy E. Kilgard
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA email: [email protected] Department of Physics, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
Andrea H. Prestwich
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA email: [email protected]
Martin J. Ward
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Timothy P. Roberts
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
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Abstract

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The X-ray populations of spiral galaxies consist almost entirely of accreting X-ray binaries and supernova remnants. For the most luminous sources, it is possible to use X-ray spectroscopy and variability studies to gain insights into the nature of the sources. However, without unambiguously identified optical counterparts, it is impossible to definitively classify sources as, e.g. high-mass or low-mass X-ray binaries. The nearby interacting galaxy M51 is one of the best-studied galaxies across all wavelengths. At a distance of around 8 Mpc, it is possible to resolve features on scales of a few parsecs both in the X-ray and the optical. Recently, M51 was observed with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a Hubble Legacy program. M51 has also been observed 3 times with the Chandra X-ray observatory. Combining these two datasets, we present initial results on the optical environments of M51 X-ray sources as the first part of a truly multi-wavelength study of X-ray sources in nearby galaxies.

Keywords

X-rays: galaxiesX-rays: binariesgalaxies: spiral
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 1 , Symposium S230: Populations of High Energy Sources in Galaxies , August 2005 , pp. 189 - 192
Copyright
2006 International Astronomical Union