A First Look at the Nuclear Region of M31 with Chandra
Abstract
We report on the first observation of the nuclear region of M31 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The nuclear source seen with the Einstein and ROSAT HRIs is resolved into five point sources. One of these sources is within 1'' of the M31 central super-massive black hole. As compared to the other point sources in M31, this nuclear source has an unusual x-ray spectrum. Based on the spatial coincidence we identify this source with the central black hole, and note that the unusual spectrum is a challenge to current theories. A bright transient is detected ~26'' to the west of the nucleus, which may be associated with a stellar mass black hole.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0003262,
title = {A First Look at the Nuclear Region of M31 with Chandra},
author = {Michael R. Garcia and Stephen S. Murray and Francis A. Primini and William R. Forman and Jeffrey E. McClintock and Christine Jones},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0003262},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Submitted to ApJ Letters, 4 pages, 4 figures. email: garcia,ssm,fap,wrf,jem,cjf, @head-cfa.harvard.edu