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X-RAY SOURCES AND THEIR OPTICAL COUNTERPARTS IN THE GALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTER M12 (NGC 6218)

Author(s)
Lu, Ting-Ni; Kong, Albert K. H.; Bassa, Cees; Verbunt, Frank; Lewin, Walter H. G.; Anderson, Scott F.; Pooley, David; ... Show more Show less
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Abstract
We study a Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS-S observation of the Galactic globular cluster M12. With a 26 ks exposure time, we detect six X-ray sources inside the half-mass radius (2'16) of which two are inside the core radius (0'72) of the cluster. If we assume that these sources are all associated with globular cluster M12, the luminosity LX among these sources between 0.3 and 7.0 keV varies roughly from 10[superscript 30] to 10[superscript 32] erg s[superscript −1]. For identification, we also analyzed the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) data and identified the optical counterparts to five X-ray sources inside the HST ACS field of view. According to the X-ray and optical features, we found 2–5 candidate active binaries (ABs) or cataclysmic variables (CVs) and 0–3 background galaxies within the HST ACS field of view. Based on the assumption that the number of X-ray sources scales with the encounter rate and the mass of the globular cluster, we expect two X-ray sources inside M12, and the expectation is consistent with our observational results. Therefore, the existence of identified X-ray sources (possible CVs or ABs) in M12 suggests the primordial origin of X-ray sources in globular clusters which is in agreement with previous studies.
Date issued
2009-09
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96028
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics; MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
Lu, Ting-Ni, Albert K. H. Kong, Cees Bassa, Frank Verbunt, Walter H. G. Lewin, Scott F. Anderson, and David Pooley. “X-RAY SOURCES AND THEIR OPTICAL COUNTERPARTS IN THE GALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTER M12 (NGC 6218).” The Astrophysical Journal 705, no. 1 (October 8, 2009): 175–183. © 2009 The American Astronomical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0004-637X
1538-4357

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