Related papers: Ultraluminous X-ray Source 1E 0953.8+6918 (M81 X-9…
We study the X-ray emission from NGC1277, a galaxy in the core of the Perseus cluster, for which van den Bosch et al. have recently claimed the presence of an UltraMassive Black Hole (UMBH) of mass 1.7 times 10^10 Msun, unless the IMF of…
The extreme extragalactic sources known as Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULX) represent a unique testing environment for compact objects population studies and the accretion process. Their nature has long been disputed. Their luminosity,…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources are extragalactic, off-nucleus, point sources in galaxies with an X-ray luminosity above 3x10^39 erg/s, thought to be powered by accretion onto a compact object. Possible explanations include accretion onto…
We present some results from an archival VLA study of ultraluminous X-ray source s (ULXs). These unresolved non-nuclear X-ray sources have luminosities (L_X >= 1 0^39 ergs/sec) which may require somewhat exotic explanations, such as…
We report on the identification of a third, new ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in the starburst galaxy M82. Previously, the source was observed at fluxes consistent with the high state of Galactic black hole binaries (BHBs). We observe…
The existence of black holes of masses ~ 10^2-10^5 Msun has important implications for the formation and evolution of star clusters and supermassive black holes. One of the strongest candidates to date is the hyperluminous X-ray source…
The ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source ESO 243-49 HLX-1 currently provides the strongest evidence for the existence of intermediate mass black holes. We conduct an ongoing monitoring campaign with the Swift X-ray Telescope and found that…
Aims. We analyzed multi-epoch X-ray data of the Ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5055 X-1, with luminosity up to $2.32\times10^{40}\ \rm erg\ s^{-1}$, in order to constrain the physical parameters of the source. Methods. We performed…
In the absence of direct kinematic measurements, the mass of an accreting black hole is sometimes inferred from the X-ray spectral parameters of its accretion disk; specifically, from the temperature and normalization of a disk-blackbody…
We study the spectral properties and accretion flow behavior of an ultraluminous X-ray source M82\,X-1 using {\it NuSTAR} observations. We use the physical two component advective flow (TCAF) model to fit the data and to derive the…
We present a comprehensive spectro-temporal analysis of five ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) with central object likely being a black hole, using archival {\it XMM-Newton} observations. These sources, namely NGC 1313 X-1, NGC 5408 X-1,…
In a number of the most luminous ULXs (L ~ 1 E+40 erg/s) in nearby galaxies, observations with XMM-Newton and Chandra are revealing evidence which suggests that these ULXs may harbor intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). The detection of…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) have been puzzling us with a debate whether they consist of an intermediate mass black hole or super-Eddington accretion by a stellar mass black hole. Here we suggest that in the presence of large scale…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) have been described variously as the most luminous normal X-ray binaries, as hypernovae, and as "intermediate-mass" black holes with masses of hundreds to thousands of solar masses. We present results on…
Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are those X-ray sources located away from the centre of their host galaxy with luminosities exceeding the Eddington limit of a stellar-mass black hole ($L_X>10^{39}\;{\rm erg\,s}^{-1}$). The discovery of…
We present the results of X-ray variability and spectral analysis of a sample of 15 new candidates for active galactic nuclei with relatively low-mass black holes (BHs). They are selected from the Second XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source…
We investigate the nature of the ULX M81 X-6, which has been suggested to harbour a neutron star (NS), by studying its long-term X-ray spectral and temporal evolution, using the rich set of available archival data from XMM-Newton, Chandra,…
The Ultra Luminous X-ray (ULX) source HLX-1 in the galaxy ESO 243-49 has an observed maximum unabsorbed X-ray luminosity of 1.3e42 erg/s (0.2-10.0 keV). From the conservative assumption that this value exceeds the Eddington limit by at most…
The radio-quiet neutron star 1E1207.4-5209 has been the target of several XMM-Newton observations, with a total exposure of ~350 ks. The source is located at intermediate galactic latitude (b~10 degrees), i.e. in a sky region with an…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are amongst the most intriguing of X-ray source classes. Their extreme luminosities - greater than 10^39 erg/s in the 0.3 - 10 keV band alone - suggest either the presence of black holes larger than those…