Searching for Optical Variability from X-ray Sources in the Galactic Bulge Survey
Abstract
The Chandra Galactic Bulge Survey (CGBS) is a 6-degree wide, X-ray survey a degree above and below the galactic plane. This survey searches for X-ray binary systems in a region of manageable optical extinction and crowding, allowing for analysis of optical counterparts. A primary goal of the CGBS is to increase the catalog of known low mass X-ray binary systems and to analyze the distribution of periodicities and varieties of x-ray sources. My research focuses on the variety of fluctuations found in 50 optical candidate counterparts to CGBS sources. Over half of these sources show variability in optical flux, with a majority of this showing strong evidence of periodic trends or outburst characteristics. I focus, also, on a particularly intriguing interacting binary for which we are obtaining full dynamical information. Additional, multiwavelength follow-up is expected for notable objects, such as this interacting system, in the future.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-0908789. Victoria Villar also acknowledges support from the REU Site in Physics and Astronomy (NSF Grant No. 1004822) at Louisiana State University.- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #219
- Pub Date:
- January 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AAS...21915320V