The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Letter. Population x: are the super-Eddington x-ray sources beamed jets in microblazars or intermediate mass black holes?

Letter. Population x: are the super-Eddington x-ray sources beamed jets in microblazars or intermediate mass black holes?
Letter. Population x: are the super-Eddington x-ray sources beamed jets in microblazars or intermediate mass black holes?
Recent x-ray observations reveal an increasing number of x-ray sources in nearby galaxies exceeding luminosities of Lx >~ 2 x 1039 erg s-1. Assuming isotropic emission, the Eddington limit suggests a population of intermediate-mass black holes of M. >> 10 Msun. However, Markoff et al. proposed that jets may be contributing to the x-ray emission from x-ray binaries (XRBs), implying that some x-ray sources may be relativistically beamed. This could reduce the required black hole masses to standard values. To test this hypothesis, we investigate a simple x-ray population synthesis model for x-ray point sources in galaxies with relativistic beaming and compare it with an isotropic emission model. The model is used to explain a combined data set of x-ray point sources in nearby galaxies. We show that the current distributions are consistent with black hole masses M < ~10 Msun and bulk Lorentz factors for jets in microquasars of γj ~ 5. Alternatively, intermediate mass black holes up to 1000 Msun are required which are distributed in a power law with roughly (dN)/(dM) ~ M-2.
x-rays, binaries - accretion, accretion disks - black hole physics - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
0004-6361
L13-L17
Koerding, E.
17fc4980-d334-4114-932d-90b6e99a01b7
Falcke, H.
331314fe-ae0f-4d2d-a65d-eddb71a6a250
Markoff, S.
0abe5c33-f762-47ba-b537-448b9ba69799
Koerding, E.
17fc4980-d334-4114-932d-90b6e99a01b7
Falcke, H.
331314fe-ae0f-4d2d-a65d-eddb71a6a250
Markoff, S.
0abe5c33-f762-47ba-b537-448b9ba69799

Koerding, E., Falcke, H. and Markoff, S. (2002) Letter. Population x: are the super-Eddington x-ray sources beamed jets in microblazars or intermediate mass black holes? Astronomy & Astrophysics, 382 (1), L13-L17. (doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011776).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent x-ray observations reveal an increasing number of x-ray sources in nearby galaxies exceeding luminosities of Lx >~ 2 x 1039 erg s-1. Assuming isotropic emission, the Eddington limit suggests a population of intermediate-mass black holes of M. >> 10 Msun. However, Markoff et al. proposed that jets may be contributing to the x-ray emission from x-ray binaries (XRBs), implying that some x-ray sources may be relativistically beamed. This could reduce the required black hole masses to standard values. To test this hypothesis, we investigate a simple x-ray population synthesis model for x-ray point sources in galaxies with relativistic beaming and compare it with an isotropic emission model. The model is used to explain a combined data set of x-ray point sources in nearby galaxies. We show that the current distributions are consistent with black hole masses M < ~10 Msun and bulk Lorentz factors for jets in microquasars of γj ~ 5. Alternatively, intermediate mass black holes up to 1000 Msun are required which are distributed in a power law with roughly (dN)/(dM) ~ M-2.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2002
Keywords: x-rays, binaries - accretion, accretion disks - black hole physics - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 45353
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/45353
ISSN: 0004-6361
PURE UUID: 75bf5d5f-b0c5-4b6b-9d89-0d80c22c3365

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Mar 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:10

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: E. Koerding
Author: H. Falcke
Author: S. Markoff

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×