Observational evidence for the origin of X-ray sources in globular clusters

Abstract

Low-mass X-ray binaries, recycled pulsars, cataclysmic variables and magnetically active binaries are observed as X-ray sources in globular clusters. We discuss the classification of these systems, and find that some presumed active binaries are brighter than expected. We discuss a new statistical method to determine from observations how the formation of X-ray sources depends on the number of stellar encounters and/or on the cluster mass. We show that cluster mass is not a proxy for the encounter number, and that optical identifications are essential in proving the presence of primordial binaries among the low-luminosity X-ray sources.

10 pages, 7 figures, to appear in IAUS 246, Dynamical evolution of dense stellar systems, ed. E. Vesperini

References in corpus (2)

• Formation and evolution of compact binaries in globular clusters: I.Binaries with white dwarfs
• Dynamical Formation of Close Binaries in Globular Clusters II: Cataclysmic Variables

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• Identifications of Faint Chandra Sources in the Globular Cluster M3
• Exotica in the Globular Cluster M4, Studied with Chandra, HST, and the VLA
• Exploration of faint X-ray and radio sources in the massive globular cluster M14: A UV-bright counterpart to Nova Ophiuchus 1938