It has been suggested that ULXs are in a new super-Eddington .ultraluminous.accretion state, and that they progress through a sequence of three spectralregimes with increasing accretion rate. However, our recent results (Sutton etal. 2013) indicate that inclination is also critical in determining the observedX-ray properties. These properties can broadly be explained by a massiveradiatively-driven wind that emerges as the Eddington limit is exceeded, andforms a funnel around the black hole axis. Previous observations show NGC 5204X-1 straddling the boundary between two ultraluminous regimes, marking it as acritical source in testing this scenario. Here we propose to obtain a furtherfour 20 ks XMM-Newton EPIC observations, which will allow us to probe the validity of the proposed model.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2014-06-27T22:50:50Z/2014-06-28T05:35:50Z
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, Dr Andrew Sutton, 2015, 'Understanding accretion beyond the Eddington limit: NGC 5204 X-1', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-0jroo5w
