Exploring a New Population of Compact Objects: X-ray and IR Observations of the Galactic Centre

Reba M. Bandyopadhyay Andrew J. Gosling Stephen E. Eikenberry Michael P. Muno Katherine M. Blundell Philipp Podsiadlowski Valerie J. Mikles Curtis DeWitt

Paper: AIP, 2008, in press

EPrint Server: 0808.0519


Abstract:

I describe the IR and X-ray observational campaign we have undertaken for the purpose of determining the nature of the faint discrete X-ray source population discovered by Chandra in the Galactic Center (GC). Data obtained for this project includes a deep Chandra survey of the Galactic Bulge; deep, high resolution IR imaging from VLT/ISAAC, CTIO/ISPI, and the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey (GPS); and IR spectroscopy from VLT/ISAAC and IRTF/SpeX. By cross-correlating the GC X-ray imaging from Chandra with our IR surveys, we identify candidate counterparts to the X-ray sources via astrometry. Using a detailed IR extinction map, we are deriving magnitudes and colors for all the candidates. Having thus established a target list, we will use the multi-object IR spectrograph FLAMINGOS-2 on Gemini-South to carry out a spectroscopic survey of the candidate counterparts, to search for emission line signatures which are a hallmark of accreting binaries. By determining the nature of these X-ray sources, this FLAMINGOS-2 Galactic Center Survey will have a dramatic impact on our knowledge of the Galactic accreting binary population.


Preprints available from the authors at reba@astro.ufl.edu , or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.

Back to the gcnews home-page.