1XMM J055940.7-503218 , the SIMBAD biblio

We use the first XMM serendipitous source catalogue (1XMM) to compile a sample of normal X-ray galaxies. We seek to expand the database of X-ray selected normal galaxies at intermediate redshifts and examine the relation between X-ray emission and star formation for late-type systems. The candidates are selected based on their X-ray (soft spectra), X-ray to optical (log(f_x/f_o)←2) and optical (extended sources) properties. 44 candidates are found and 35 are spectroscopically observed with the Australian National University's 2.3m telescope to examine their nature. Of the 35 sources observed, 2 are AGN, 11 emission line galaxies, 12 absorption line galaxies, 6 have featureless spectra while 4 are associated with Galactic stars. We combine our emission line sample with earlier works forming the most comprehensive X-ray selected galaxy sample for the study of the X-ray luminosity to the Hα luminosity - a well-calibrated star-formation indicator - relation. We find that the X-ray luminosity strongly correlates with the Hα luminosity, suggesting that the X-rays efficiently trace the star-formation.