M 83 Chandra X-Ray Binary Classifications Using HST
Short Name:
M83XRBCXO
Date:
07 Mar 2025
Publisher:
NASA/GSFC HEASARC
Description:
Building on recent work by Chandar+ (2020, J/ApJ/890/150), the authors constructed X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) for different classes of X-ray binary (XRB) donors in the nearby star-forming galaxy M 83. Rather than classifying low-versus high-mass XRBs based on the scaling of the number of X-ray sources with stellar mass and star formation rate, respectively, this catalog utilized multi-band Hubble Space Telescope imaging data to classify each Chandra-detected compact X-ray source as a low-mass (i.e., donor mass < ~3M<sub>sun</sub>), high-mass (donor mass > ~8M<sub>sun</sub>), or intermediate-mass XRB based on either the location of its candidate counterpart on optical color-magnitude diagrams or the age of its host star cluster. In addition to the standard (single and/or truncated) power-law functional shape, the authors approximated the resulting XLFs with a Schechter function. They identified a marginally significant (at the 1-sigma to 2-sigma level) exponential downturn for the high-mass XRB XLF, at l~38.48<sub>-0.33</sub><sup>+0.52</sup> (in log CGS units). In contrast, the low- and intermediate-mass XRB XLFs, as well as the total XLF of M 83, are formally consistent with sampling statistics from a single power law. This method suggests a non-negligible contribution from low- and possibly intermediate-mass XRBs to the total XRB XLF of M 83, i.e., between 20% and 50%, in broad agreement with X-ray-based XLFs. More generally, the authors caution against considerable contamination from X-ray emitting supernova remnants to the published, X-ray-based XLFs of M 83, and possibly all actively star-forming galaxies. This table presents a fully classified catalog of X-ray sources in M 83 that builds upon the deep Chandra ACIS imaging data published in Lehmer+ 2019 (J/ApJS/243/3). Out of a total of 456 point-like sources brighter than 10<sup>35</sup>erg/s, this work restricts the analysis to the 325 objects that fall within the M 83 HST footprint. HST observations of M 83 were taken with the WFC3/UVIS instrument, spanning seven fields that each cover approximately 162" x 162" for a total mosaic area of ~43 arcmin<sup>2</sup>. All observations were obtained between 2009 August and 2012 September by R. O'Connell (Prop ID. 11360) and W. Blair (Prop ID. 12513), with exposure times ranging from ~1.2 to 2.7 ks for each image. Images were downloaded from the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA). In general, BVI images are created using the F438W, F547M, and F814W filters. The central field, which includes the galaxy nucleus, uses the broader F555W V-band filter, rather than F547M. The authors also use U-band images (F336W) to help calculate cluster ages. This table was created by the HEASARC in March 2023 based upon the <a href="https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/ftp/cats/J/ApJ/912/31">CDS Catalog J/ApJ/912/31</a> file tablea2.dat. This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .
