A substantial body of evidence suggests that most ultraluminous X-ray sources(ULXs) are stellar remnant black holes accreting at super-Eddington rates, in anew .ultraluminous. accretion state. Little is known of the astrophysics of thisputative state to date. Gladstone et al. (2009) propose a sequence of threespectral regimes that ULXs may progress through as their accretion rateincreases; but no evidence for this progression from an individual source hasyet been seen. Here, we propose three observations of a highly variable ULX inNGC 5907, triggered at different flux levels by Swift monitoring data. Thesewill investigate whether large amplitude luminosity variation in a ULX isaccompanied by transitions through these ultraluminous state regimes.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2012-02-05T11:51:32Z/2012-02-09T18:52:10Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Mr Andrew D. Sutton, 2013, 'Tracking spectral variability with luminosity in the ultraluminous state', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-bt9v4qe
