The Ultra Luminous X-ray sources in the High Velocity System of NGC 1275

Abstract

We report the results of a study of X-ray point sources coincident with the High Velocity System (HVS) projected in front of NGC 1275. A very deep X-ray image of the core of the Perseus cluster made with the Chandra Observatory has been used. We find a population of Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources (ULX; 7 sources with LX [0.5-7 keV] > 7x10^39 erg/s). As with the ULX populations in the Antennae and Cartwheel galaxies, those in the HVS are associated with a region of very active star formation. Several sources have possible optical counterparts found on HST images, although the X-ray brightest one does not. Absorbed power-law models fit the X-ray spectra, with most having a photon index between 2 and 3.

7 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRAS