The Brightest X-ray Point Sources in M82

The prototypical starburst galaxy M82 contains a large population of X-ray emitting sources. We report the results of a study of the brightest point-like X-ray emitters within this galaxy, based on ~ 0.5 Msec of observations taken with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Four of these sources are previously studied ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), including the famous M82 X-1.We find the temporal variations and spectral characteristics of these ULXs to be consistent with previous results. The remaining sources are heterogeneous, but all display X-ray properties typically observed in canonically accreting X-ray binaries (XRBs). Among these sources, we have discovered both a candidate transient and luminous accreting neutron star. We also see a possible difference in accretion modes between the brighter and fainter sources in this subset of our sample. The results presented in this work demonstrate both the importance and the rich potential for future studies of the physical properties of diverse XRB populations in nearby galaxies.