X-RAY-GAL · X-ray studies of nearby galaxies
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2008-10-01 → 2012-09-30
- EU contribution
- €100,000
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IRG
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
X-ray studies of nearby galaxies
One of the fundamental questions in astrophysics is how stars and galaxies form and evolve. Although the basic mechanisms are known, some the still open questions are the properties of the endpoints of stellar evolution (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black-holes), the chemical enrichment and evolution of the interstellar medium (through supernova explosions and stellar winds) and their relation to star-formation. X-ray observations provide a unique tool to address those questions since both compact objects and hot gas emit primarily in the X-ray band. Moreover, observations of other galaxies allow us to study those questions in different environments and study the evolution of star-formation and galaxies in cosmological timescales. X-ray observations of nearby galaxies allow us to study: (a) the properties of their hot gas produced by the interaction between the stellar winds and supernova remnants with their surrounding interstellar gas; and (b) the discrete X-ray sources which are related to the end-points of the stellar evolution (e.g. supernova remnants and X-ray binaries). The subject of this effort is to study the X-ray binaries in a small sample of nearby galaxies. X-ray binaries are systems consisting of a compact objects (white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole) accreting matter from a donor star. Depending on the nature of the donor star we can have high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) or low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) if it is a massive (early-type) star or a low mass (<1 solar mass; late-type) star. Therefore, both signals to noise radio (SNRs) and X-ray binaries, provide important information on stellar evolution, particularly its end-points, and their populations reflect the star-formation history of a galaxy. As part of this project we have analysed X-ray (Chandra) and supporting space (Hubble space telescope; HST) and ground based optical data for a set of nearby galaxies including our two nearest irregular galaxies (the small and large magellanic clouds) and one elliptical galaxy (NGC4261). For these galaxies we studied the properties of their X-ray sources, and we calculated their X-ray luminosity functions (including corrections for observational biases), and we compared them with a library of simulations in order to constrain parameters in their formation and evolution.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The current suite of X-ray observations provides a new window to address questions related to stellar evolution, formation of compact objects, and galaxy evolution. To tackle these questions I propose to study a carefully selected, representative sample of nearby star-forming galaxies spanning a wide range of morphological types and starformation properties. I will employ high quality observations in X-ray, optical and infrared wavebands from major space observatories (Chandra, XMM-Newton, HST and Spitzer) and ground-based facilities. These multiwavelength observations will be used to: (a) decompose the galactic X-ray emission to the discrete X-ray source and diffuse components and measure their parameters; (b) identify multiwavelength associations of the X–ray sources and (c) derive star-formation histories for different regions of the galaxies. The comparison of the X-ray source populations (classified based on their X-ray properties and multiwavelength associations), with the star-formation histories and the galactic parameters will provide a direct picture of their connection. Similar comparisons for the diffuse emission will address the heating and chemical enrichment mechanisms of the gas. Finally comparison of the observational results with prediction from state of the art X-ray binary population synthesis models will constrain channels of binary formation and evolution and will elucidate the physical mechanisms of the connection between X-ray source populations (and hence compact objects) and of star-formation. This project will produce a heritage dataset for future studies of nearby galaxies, while its results will have implications for X-ray studies of galaxies in cosmological distances, studies of gravitational wave sources, and galaxy evolution.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS · IRAKLEIOCoordinatorGreece
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union