The ultraluminous X-ray source X-37 is a background quasar in the Antennae galaxies

被引:18
作者
Clark, DM
Christopher, MH
Eikenberry, SS
Brandl, BR
Wilson, JC
Carson, JC
Henderson, CP
Hayward, TL
Barry, DJ
Ptak, AF
Colbert, EJM
机构
[1] Univ Florida, Dept Astron, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
[2] CALTECH, Dept Astron, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
[3] Leiden Observ, NL-2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
[4] Univ Virginia, Dept Astron, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
[5] Jet Prop Lab, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
[6] Cornell Univ, Dept Astron, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[7] AURA Inc, Gemini Observ, La Serena, Chile
[8] Johns Hopkins Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
galaxies : starburst; quasars : general; X-rays : galaxies;
D O I
10.1086/497333
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
In this Letter we report that a bright, X-ray source in the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/9), previously identified as an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), is in fact a background quasar. We identify an isolated infrared and optical counterpart within 0.'' 3 +/- 0.'' 5 of the X-ray source X-37. After acquiring an optical spectrum of its counterpart, we use the narrow [O III] and broad H alpha emission lines to identify X-37 as a quasar at a redshift of z = 0.26. Through a U, V, and photometric analysis, we demonstrate that most of the observable light along this line of sight is from the quasar. We discuss the implications of this discovery and the importance of acquiring spectra for optical and IR counterparts to ULXs.
引用
收藏
页码:L109 / L112
页数:4
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