1,378 research outputs found
Low-luminosity AGN and Normal Galaxies
Low-luminosity AGN (with X-ray luminosity < 1e42 ergs/s) far outnumber
ordinary AGN, and are therefore perhaps more relevant to our understanding of
AGN phenomena and the relationship between AGN and host galaxies. Many normal
galaxies harbor LINER and starburst nuclei, which, together with LLAGN, are a
class of ``low-activity'' galaxies that have a number of surprisingly similar
X-ray characteristics, despite their heterogenous optical classification. This
strongly supports the hypothesis of an AGN-starburst connection. Further, X-ray
observations of normal galaxies without starburst or AGN-like activity in their
nuclei offer opportunities to study populations of X-ray binaries, HII regions,
and warm or hot ISM under different conditions than is often the case in the
Milky Way. The results of recent X-ray observations of these types of galaxies
are reviewed, and what we hope to learn about both nearby and high redshift
galaxies of each type from observations with forthcoming and planned satellites
is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Invited review at Bologna X-ray Astronomy 1999.
To appear in Astrophysical Letters and Communication
The Statistical Properties of Galaxies Containing ULXs
We present a statistical analysis of the properties of galaxies containing
ultraluminous X-ray objects (ULXs). Our primary goal is to establish the
fraction of galaxies containing a ULX as a function of ULX luminosity. Our
sample is based on ROSAT HRI observations of galaxies. We find that ~ 12% of
galaxies contain at least one ULX with L_X > 10^39 erg/s and ~ 1% of galaxies
contain at least one ULX with L_X > 10^40 erg/s. These ULX frequencies are
lower limits since ROSAT HRI observation would miss absorbed ULXs (i.e., with
N_H >~ 10^21 cm^-2) and those within ~ 10" of the nucleus (due to the
positional error circle of the ROSAT HRI). The Hubble type distribution of
galaxies with a ULX differs significantly from the distribution of types for
nearby RC3 galaxies, but does not differ significantly from the galaxy type
distribution of galaxies observed by the HRI in general. We find no increase in
the mean FIR luminosity or FIR / K band luminosity ratio for galaxies with a
ULX relative to galaxies observed by the HRI in general, however this result is
also most likely biased by the soft bandpass of the HRI and the relatively low
number of high SFR galaxies observed by the HRI with enough sensitivity to
detect a ULX.Comment: Accepted by Apj. 5 pages with 4 figures formatted using emulateapj.
Version with just b/w figures available at
http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~ptak/paper
SHEEP: The Search for the High Energy Extragalactic Population
We present the SHEEP survey for serendipitously-detected hard X-ray sources
in ASCA GIS images. In a survey area of deg, 69 sources were
detected in the 5-10 keV band to a limiting flux of erg
cm s. The number counts agree with those obtained by the similar
BeppoSAX HELLAS survey, and both are in close agreement with ASCA and BeppoSAX
2-10 keV surveys. Spectral analysis of the SHEEP sample reveals that the 2-10
and 5-10 keV surveys do not sample the same populations, however, as we find
considerably harder spectra, with an average assuming no
absorption. The implication is that the agreement in the number counts is
coincidental, with the 5-10 keV surveys gaining approximately as many hard
sources as they lose soft ones, when compared to the 2-10 keV surveys. This is
hard to reconcile with standard AGN ``population synthesis'' models for the
X-ray background, which posit the existence of a large population of absorbed
sources. We find no evidence of the population hardening at faint fluxes, with
the exception that the few very brightest objects are anomalously soft. 53 of
the SHEEP sources have been covered by ROSAT in the pointed phase. Of these 32
were detected. An additional 3 were detected in the RASS. As expected the
sources detected with ROSAT are systematically softer than those detected with
ASCA alone, and of the sample as a whole (truncated).Comment: 36 pages, 7 figs, to appear in Ap
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