Related papers: The missing link: a low mass X-ray binary in M31 s…
Stochastic variability in two out of four XMM-Newton observations of XMMU J004303+4115 along with its power spectra and X-ray luminosities suggest a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) with a black hole primary. However, Chandra observations…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are non-nuclear X-ray binary systems that exceed the Eddington luminosity for a 10 Msun black hole. The majority of these sources are thought to be stellar-mass compact objects accreting at super-Eddington…
We identified a new X-ray transient CXOM31 004252.457+411631.17 (T13) in M31 during a 2013 June Chandra observation. This system is particularly exciting because it is located within 100" of M31*; it is thought that this region of the bulge…
We report new detections of the two transient ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in NGC 5128 from an ongoing series of Chandra observations. Both sources have previously been observed Lx (2-3)E39 erg/s, at the lower end of the ULX…
A previously undetected X-ray source (L_X<10**36 erg/s) in the strongly star-forming galaxy M83 entered an ultraluminous state between August 2009 and December 2010. It was first seen with Chandra on 23 December 2010 at L_X ~ 4 10**39…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are point-like sources that exhibit apparent X-ray luminosities exceeding the Eddington limit for stellar-mass compact objects. A widely accepted interpretation is that these systems are X-ray binaries…
We present the results from an X-ray and optical study of a new sample of eight extreme luminosity ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) candidates, which were selected as the brightest ULXs (with L_X > 5x10^40 erg/s) located within 100 Mpc…
Most ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are believed to be stellar mass black holes or neutron stars accreting beyond the Eddington limit. Determining the nature of the compact object and the accretion mode from broadband spectroscopy is…
We present the discovery, from archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data, of X-ray eclipses in two ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), located in the same region of the galaxy M 51: CXOM51 J132940.0$+$471237 (ULX-1, for simplicity) and CXOM51…
We performed a search for eclipsing and dipping sources in the archive of the EXTraS project - a systematic characterization of the temporal behaviour of XMM-Newton point sources. We discovered dips in the X-ray light curve of 3XMM…
M82 X-1 is one of the brightest ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) known, which, assuming Eddington-limited accretion and other considerations, makes it one of the best intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) candidates. However, the ULX may…
We have analyzed an XMM-Newton observation of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1313, which contains two "ultra-luminous" X-ray (ULX) sources. We measure isotropic luminosities of L_X = 2.0 * 10^(40) erg/s and L_X = 6.6 * 10^(39) erg/s for NGC…
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…
Ultraluminous X-Ray Objects are off-nucleus point sources with $L_X=10^{39}$-$10^{41}$ erg/s and are among the most poorly understood X-ray sources. To help understand their nature, we are trying to identify their optical counterparts by…
The transient X-ray source CXOM31 004205.77+411330.43 exhibited several outbursts during our long-term monitoring campaign of ~monthly observations of the M31 center with Chandra. However, the decay profile appears to be unlike those…
The end points of massive star evolution are poorly known, especially those in interacting binary systems containing compact objects, such as neutron stars or black holes. Such systems are bright in X-rays, and the most luminous among them…
All 63 discrete X-ray sources brighter than L_{\rm X} = 5x10^{36} erg/s in any of four XMM-Newton observations of the core of M31 were surveyed for time variability over time-scales of seconds to thousands of seconds, and for intensity…
We present results obtained from two broadband X-ray observations of the extreme ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC5907 ULX1, known to have a peak X-ray luminosity of ~5e40 erg/s. These XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations, separated by…
The X-ray spectral and timing properties of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) have many similarities with the very high state of stellar-mass black holes (power-law dominated, at accretion rates greater than the Eddington rate). On the…
We report the discovery of the new dipping X-ray source, XMMU J004308.6+411247, in M31, during a systematic search for periodicities in XMM-Newton archival observations. During the 2002 January 6 observation, the dips recur with a 107 min…