Related papers: Ultraluminous X-ray Sources: Beambags and Optical …
Here we present the results of panoramic and long-slit observations of eight ULX nebular counterparts held with the 6m SAO telescope. In two ULXNe we detected for the first time signatures of high excitation ([OIII]5007 / H\beta > 5). Two…
We have searched for ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in a sample of 28 elliptical and S0 galaxies observed with Chandra. We find that the number of X-ray sources detected at a flux level that would correspond to a 0.3-10 keV X-ray…
We present new 6, 3.6, and 2 cm VLA radio observations of the nearby merger system NGC 3256, with resolutions of ~100 pc, which reveal compact radio sources embedded in more diffuse emission at all three wavelengths. The two radio nuclei…
We consider ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) where the accretor is a neutron star rather than a black hole. We show that the recently-discovered example (M82 X-2) fits naturally into the simple picture of ULXs as beamed X-ray sources fed…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) are off-nuclear point sources in nearby galaxies whose X-ray luminosity exceeds the theoretical maximum for spherical infall (the Eddington limit) onto stellar-mass black holes. Their luminosity ranges from…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are the most extreme members of the X-ray binary population, exhibiting X-ray luminosities that can surpass the 10^39 erg/s threshold (by orders of magnitude). They are mainly seen in external galaxies…
We present results from the remaining sources in our search for near-infrared (NIR) candidate counterparts to ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) within $\simeq$ 10 Mpc. We observed 23 ULXs in 15 galaxies and detected NIR candidate…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) were an enigma since their discovery. ASCA showed that they are accreting black holes (BHs) with unknown mass, while Chandra & XMM data shows that the many of the lower luminosity ULXs can be explained by…
We investigate a sample of seven edge-on spiral galaxies using Chandra observations. Edge-on spiral galaxies allow us to clearly separate source associated with their star-forming regions versus the outer edges of the system; offering a…
We report the results of an observation of a large diameter (110 pc) supernova remnant (SNR) found to encircle the position of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) IC 342 X-1. The inferred initial energy input to the SNR is at least 2 -- 3…
We report the discovery of a new candidate ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891. The source, which has an absorbed flux of F_X ~ 10^-12 erg/s/cm^2 (corresponding to L_X > 10^40 erg/s at 9 Mpc), must…
We present optical identification and characterization of counterparts of four objects previously catalogued as ultra-luminous X-ray sources. The objects were selected from the Colbert & Ptak (2002) catalogue. The optical counterparts are…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) represent the closest and most accessible laboratories to study sustained super-Eddington accretion onto compact objects. Over the past decade, the discoveries of coherent pulsations in a few ULXs has…
In this paper we present the results of the first systematic search for counterparts to nearby ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in the near-infrared (NIR). We observed 62 ULXs in 37 galaxies within 10 Mpc and discovered 17 candidate NIR…
We have used XMM-Newton's Optical Monitor (OM) images to study the local environment of a sample of 27 Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) in nearby galaxies. UVW1 fluxes were extracted from 100 pc regions centered on the ULX positions. We…
Ultraluminous X-ray binaries have challenged our assumptions of extreme accretion rates in X-ray binaries, and impact other subfields of astronomy, such as cosmology, gravitational wave sources and supernov{\ae}. Our understanding of ULXs…
The discovery of pulsations in several Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) demonstrated that a fraction of ULXs are powered by super-Eddington accretion onto neutron stars (NSs). This opened the debate as to what is the NS to black hole (BH)…
Ultraluminous and hyperluminous X-ray sources (ULXs and HLXs) are among the brightest astrophysical objects in the X-ray sky. While ULXs most likely host stellar-mass compact objects accreting at super-Eddington rates, HLXs are compelling…
The nature of ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) has long been plagued by an ambiguity about whether the central compact objects are intermediate-mass (IMBH, >~ 10^3 M_sun) or stellar-mass (a few tens M_sun) black holes (BHs). The high…
We present the results of a search for optical identifications of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in M51 by using mosaic images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys in filters F435W (B), F555W (V), F814W (I),…