WFCAM Survey of M31 Globular Clusters: Low Mass X-ray Binaries

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) and globular clusters (GCs) using UKIRT observations of M31 and existing Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT catalogues. By fitting King models to these data we have estimated the structural parameters and stellar collision rates of 239 of its GCs. We show a highly significant trend between the presence of a LMXB and the stellar collision rate of a cluster. The stellar collision rate is found to be a stronger predictor of which clusters will host LMXBs than the host cluster mass. We argue that our results show that the stellar collision rate of the clusters is the fundamental parameter related to the production LMXBs. This is consistent with the formation of LMXBs through dynamical interactions with little direct dependence on the neutron star retention fraction or cluster mass.

5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table (available in full from http://www.astro.soton.ac.uk/~m.b.peacock/m31gc.html), accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

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• The outer halo globular cluster system of M31 - I. The final PAndAS catalogue
• Variability of Optical Counterparts in the Chandra Galactic Bulge Survey
• Identifications of Faint Chandra Sources in the Globular Cluster M3
• Globular clusters in the stellar stream surrounding the Milky Way analog NGC 5907
• The X-ray Binary-Star Cluster Connection in Late-Type Galaxies