A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82

The study of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) in X-ray binaries provides valuable insights into the physics of accretion around compact objects. The M82 galaxy hosts multiple ultraluminous X-ray sources, including two prominent ones—X-1 and X-2—where X-1 is suspected to harbor an intermediate-mass...

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Main Authors: Hamza El Byad, Matteo Bachetti, Silvia Columbu, Giuseppe Rodriguez, Maura Pilia, Matthew J. Middleton, Dominic J. Walton, Murray Brightman, Hannah Earnshaw, Karl Forster, Brian Grefenstette, Felix Fürst, Marianne Heida, Matteo Imbrogno, Eleonora Veronica Lai, Thomas Maccarone
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded8a
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author Hamza El Byad
Matteo Bachetti
Silvia Columbu
Giuseppe Rodriguez
Maura Pilia
Matthew J. Middleton
Dominic J. Walton
Murray Brightman
Hannah Earnshaw
Karl Forster
Brian Grefenstette
Felix Fürst
Marianne Heida
Matteo Imbrogno
Eleonora Veronica Lai
Thomas Maccarone
author_facet Hamza El Byad
Matteo Bachetti
Silvia Columbu
Giuseppe Rodriguez
Maura Pilia
Matthew J. Middleton
Dominic J. Walton
Murray Brightman
Hannah Earnshaw
Karl Forster
Brian Grefenstette
Felix Fürst
Marianne Heida
Matteo Imbrogno
Eleonora Veronica Lai
Thomas Maccarone
author_sort Hamza El Byad
collection DOAJ
description The study of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) in X-ray binaries provides valuable insights into the physics of accretion around compact objects. The M82 galaxy hosts multiple ultraluminous X-ray sources, including two prominent ones—X-1 and X-2—where X-1 is suspected to harbor an intermediate-mass black hole. In this work, we analyze data from 39 NuSTAR observations acquired between 2014 and 2024 to investigate the aperiodic X-ray variability in M82. In particular, we study in detail the evolution of the QPOs from M82 X-1 in the range 20–300 mHz. We do not find additional timing features in the data, besides a frequently present broad noise component at lower frequencies. The QPO behaves similarly to other classes of low-frequency oscillations in accreting compact objects, both black holes and neutron stars.
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series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-359ebb9dab314546b2ab19f1ff062b052025-08-20T04:03:17ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989220210.3847/1538-4357/aded8aA NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82Hamza El Byad0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5473-4953Matteo Bachetti1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4576-9337Silvia Columbu2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5420-0719Giuseppe Rodriguez3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9054-8712Maura Pilia4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7397-8091Matthew J. Middleton5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8183-2970Dominic J. Walton6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5819-3552Murray Brightman7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8147-2602Hannah Earnshaw8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5857-5622Karl Forster9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5800-5531Brian Grefenstette10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1984-2932Felix Fürst11Marianne Heidahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1082-7496Matteo Imbrogno12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8688-9784Eleonora Veronica Lai13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6421-2198Thomas Maccarone14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0976-4755INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , Italy; Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Cagliari , ItalyINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Cagliari , ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Cagliari , ItalyINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , ItalyUniversity of Southampton , UKCentre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire , UKCalifornia Insitute of Technology , USACalifornia Insitute of Technology , USACalifornia Insitute of Technology , USACalifornia Insitute of Technology , USAESA/ESAC , SpainINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , ItalyINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari , ItalyDepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Tech University , Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409-1051, USAThe study of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) in X-ray binaries provides valuable insights into the physics of accretion around compact objects. The M82 galaxy hosts multiple ultraluminous X-ray sources, including two prominent ones—X-1 and X-2—where X-1 is suspected to harbor an intermediate-mass black hole. In this work, we analyze data from 39 NuSTAR observations acquired between 2014 and 2024 to investigate the aperiodic X-ray variability in M82. In particular, we study in detail the evolution of the QPOs from M82 X-1 in the range 20–300 mHz. We do not find additional timing features in the data, besides a frequently present broad noise component at lower frequencies. The QPO behaves similarly to other classes of low-frequency oscillations in accreting compact objects, both black holes and neutron stars.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded8aUltraluminous x-ray sourcesX-ray binary starsX-ray astronomyCompact objectsAccretionTime domain astronomy
spellingShingle Hamza El Byad
Matteo Bachetti
Silvia Columbu
Giuseppe Rodriguez
Maura Pilia
Matthew J. Middleton
Dominic J. Walton
Murray Brightman
Hannah Earnshaw
Karl Forster
Brian Grefenstette
Felix Fürst
Marianne Heida
Matteo Imbrogno
Eleonora Veronica Lai
Thomas Maccarone
A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
The Astrophysical Journal
Ultraluminous x-ray sources
X-ray binary stars
X-ray astronomy
Compact objects
Accretion
Time domain astronomy
title A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
title_full A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
title_fullStr A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
title_full_unstemmed A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
title_short A NuSTAR Study of Quasiperiodic Oscillations from the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in M82
title_sort nustar study of quasiperiodic oscillations from the ultraluminous x ray sources in m82
topic Ultraluminous x-ray sources
X-ray binary stars
X-ray astronomy
Compact objects
Accretion
Time domain astronomy
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aded8a
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