2002MNRAS.332..764W -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 332, 764-768 (2002/May-3)
Ultraluminous X-ray source 1E 0953.8+6918 (M81 X-9): an intermediate-mass black hole candidate and its environs.
WANG D.Q.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present a ROSAT and ASCA study of the Einstein source X-9 and its relation to a shock-heated shell-like optical nebula in a tidal arm of the M81 group of interacting galaxies. Our ASCA observation of the source shows a flat and featureless X-ray spectrum well described by a multicolour disc blackbody model. The source most likely represents an optically thick accretion disc around an intermediate-mass black hole (M ∼102 M☉ ) in its high/soft state, similar to other variable ultraluminous X-ray sources observed in nearby disc galaxies. Using constraints derived from both the innermost stable orbit around a black hole and the Eddington luminosity, we find that the black hole is fast-rotating and that its mass is between ∼80M☉ -1.5x102 M☉ . The inferred bolometric luminosity of the accretion disc is ~(1.1x1040 ergs–1 )/(cosi ). Furthermore, we find that the optical nebula is very energetic and may contain large amounts of hot gas, accounting for a soft X-ray component as indicated by archival ROSAT PSPC data. The nebula is apparently associated with X-9; the latter may be powering the former and/or they could be formed in the same event (e.g. a hypernova). Such a connection, if confirmed, could have strong implications for understanding both the birth of intermediate-mass black holes and the formation of energetic interstellar structures.
Abstract Copyright:
2002 Blackwell Science Ltd
Journal keyword(s):
binaries: general - ISM: bubbles - galaxies: individual: M81 - X-rays: galaxies
Simbad objects:
7
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