Tracing X-ray Binary Population Evolution By Galaxy Dissection: First Results from M51
Abstract
Recently, we have found, in the Chandra Deep Field-South, that the emission from X-ray binary (XRB) populations in galaxies evolves significantly with cosmic time, most likely due to changes in the physical properties of galaxies like star-formation rate, stellar mass, stellar age, and metallicity. However, it has been challenging to directly show that these same physical properties are connected to XRB populations using data from nearby galaxies. We present a new technique for empirically calibrating how X-ray binary (XRB) populations evolve following their formation in a variety of environments. We first utilize detailed stellar population synthesis modeling of far-UV to far-IR broadband data of nearby (< 10 Mpc) face-on spiral galaxies to construct maps of the star-formation histories on subgalactic scales. Using Chandra data, we then identify the locations of the XRBs within these galaxies and correlate their formation frequencies with local galaxy properties. In this talk, I will show promising first results for the Whirlpool galaxy (M51), and will discuss how expanding our sample to an archival sample of 20 face-on spirals will lead to a detailed empirical timeline for how XRBs form and evolve in various environments.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
- Pub Date:
- January 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...22932604L