Study of populations of low-mass X-ray binaries in elliptical galaxies [thesis]

Zhongli Zhang
2012
The aim of this thesis is to study the environmental dependence of populations of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in early-type galaxies. The dissertation is mainly based on archival data of the Chandra observatory, complemented by the infrared data of the Spitzer observatory as well as by the results of the Hubble Space Telescope and ground based optical observations. The dissertation investigates the dependence of LMXB populations on the stellar density, velocity dispersion and the age of the
more » ... stellar population. To investigate the LMXB dependence on the stellar density and velocity dispersion, we studied different sub populations of low-mass X-ray binaries -- dynamically formed systems in globular clusters and in the nucleus of M31, and presumably primordial X-ray binaries in the fields of galaxies. We found that the luminosity distributions of globular cluster and field LMXBs differ throughout the entire luminosity range. The fraction of faint (Lx < E37 erg/s) sources in globular clusters is ~ 4 times smaller than in the field population. This may present a challenge for the models suggesting that the entire LMXB population was formed dynamically in globular clusters and then expelled to the field due to dynamical interactions or as globular clusters dissolve. The luminosity function of dynamically formed sources in the nucleus of M31 is similar to that of globular cluster sources at the faint end but differs at the bright end, that the M31 nucleus hosting significantly fewer bright sources than globular clusters (and field population). The difference between their luminosity distributions is likely caused by the factor of ~ 10-20 difference in stellar velocities in globular clusters and galactic nuclei, which leads to different dynamical formation channels. In order to investigate the LMXB dependence on the stellar age we collected a sample of 20 nearby massive E/S0 galaxies covering a broad range of stellar ages from ~ 1 to > 10 Gyrs. We found statistically significant correlation of the specific frequ [...]
doi:10.5282/edoc.13918 fatcat:hwmpwm5rsjfwxhas5r7lirv734