Ultra-luminous X-ray sources

by Prof. Juri Poutanen (Astronomy Division, University of Oulu, Finland)

Thursday 30 Nov 2006, 10:15 → 11:00 Europe/Stockholm

Nordita Seminar Room

We argue that the ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) discovered recently in nearby galaxies are super-critically accreting stellar-mass black holes with strong outflows. We derive the luminosity-temperature relation for the accreting black holes (BHs) and compare it to the data on ULXs. The proposed model successfully explains the observed spectra of ULXs as well as the super-Eddington accreting BHs in the Milky Way: SS433 and V4641 Sgr. Strong outflows combined with the large intrinsic X-ray luminosity of the central BH explain naturally the presence of the photoionized nebulae around ULXs.

more information http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609274