SIMBAD references

The diffuse appearance of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission has been puzzling since its discovery due to the lack of compelling theories for sustainable hot diffuse X-ray emission in the Galactic plane. Recently, Revnivtsev et al. claimed that ∼ 90 per cent of the 6.5–7.1keV X-ray flux from a small section of a low-extinction region at 1°.4 south of the Galactic Centre has been resolved to discrete sources with \mi L\mi X\mo,\mspace\mn 2\mo –\mn 10\mspace\mi keV\mo ≳ \mn 4\mo x \mn 10\mo –\mn 16 erg/s/cm2, using ultradeep (1 Ms) observations made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. They also concluded that coronally active stars such as active binaries (ABs) contribute ∼ 60 per cent of the resolved flux. However, our recent discovery of a large population of magnetic cataclysmic variables (MCVs) in the same region suggests their significant role in the resolved hard X-ray flux. In addition, deep X-ray surveys of other several Galactic bulge fields over the past decade have indicated that MCVs are likely the major contributor in the hard X-ray emission above 2–3keV. To solve this mystery, we have conducted an independent in-depth analysis of discrete X-ray sources in the low-extinction region. The total fraction of the 6.5–7.1keV flux we can confidently claim as resolved is ∼ 70–80 per cent, which largely agrees with Revnivtsev et al., but leaves some room for diffuse components. However, despite the various attempts, we consistently find that the resolved hard X-ray flux above 3 keV is dominated by relatively bright, hard X-ray sources such as MCVs, whereas the contribution from relatively faint, soft sources such as ABs is below 20 per cent. We describe in detail our analysis procedure in order to elucidate possible origins of the discrepancy.