Issue |
A&A
Volume 558, October 2013
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A3 | |
Number of page(s) | 31 | |
Section | Catalogs and data | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201219935 | |
Published online | 26 September 2013 |
The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: The X-ray point-source catalogue⋆,⋆⋆
1
Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik,
Giessenbachstraße, 85748
Garching, Germany
e-mail: rsturm@mpe.mpg.de
2
Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM − CNRS − Université Paris Diderot,
IRFU/SAp, CEA-Saclay, 91191
Gif-sur-Yvette,
France
3
Department of Physics, University of Athens,
Panepistimiopolis, Zografos,
10679
Athens,
Greece
4
South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9,
Observatory, 7935
Cape Town, South
Africa
5
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of
Southampton, Highfield, Southampton
SO17 1BJ,
UK
6
XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre, ESAC, ESA,
PO Box 78, 28691
Villanueva de la Cañada,
Madrid,
Spain
7
University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC,
NSW 1797
Sydney,
Australia
8
INAF, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica
Milano, via E. Bassini
15, 20133
Milano,
Italy
9
Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia,
Piazza della Vittoria 15,
27100
Pavia,
Italy
10
INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di
Pavia, via A. Bassi
6, 27100
Pavia,
Italy
Received:
2
July
2012
Accepted:
3
July
2013
Context. Local-Group galaxies provide access to samples of X-ray source populations of whole galaxies. The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) completely covers the bar and eastern wing with a 5.6 deg2 area in the (0.2−12.0) keV band.
Aims. To characterise the X-ray sources in the SMC field, we created a catalogue of point sources and sources with moderate extent. Sources with high extent (≥40′′) have been presented in a companion paper.
Methods. We searched for point sources in the EPIC images using sliding-box and maximum-likelihood techniques and classified the sources using hardness ratios, X-ray variability, and their multi-wavelength properties.
Results. The catalogue comprises 3053 unique X-ray sources with a median position uncertainty of 1.3′′ down to a flux limit for point sources of ~10-14 erg cm-2 s-1 in the (0.2−4.5) keV band, corresponding to 5 × 1033 erg s-1 for sources in the SMC. We discuss statistical properties, like the spatial distribution, X-ray colour diagrams, luminosity functions, and time variability. We identified 49 SMC high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXB), four super-soft X-ray sources (SSS), 34 foreground stars, and 72 active galactic nuclei (AGN) behind the SMC. In addition, we found candidates for SMC HMXBs (45) and faint SSSs (8) as well as AGN (2092) and galaxy clusters (13).
Conclusions. We present the most up-to-date catalogue of the X-ray source population in the SMC field. In particular, the known population of X-ray binaries is greatly increased. We find that the bright-end slope of the luminosity function of Be/X-ray binaries significantly deviates from the expected universal high-mass X-ray binary luminosity function.
Key words: galaxies: individual: Small Magellanic Cloud / galaxies: stellar content / X-rays: general / X-rays: binaries / catalogs
Based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and NASA
Catalogue is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/558/A3
© ESO, 2013
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