A Panchromatic Study of the X-Ray Binary Population in NGC 300 on Subgalactic Scales

Breanna A. Binder, Rosalie Williams, Jacob Payne, Michael Eracleous, Alexander Belles, Benjamin F. Williams

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Abstract

The population-wide properties and demographics of extragalactic X-ray binaries (XRBs) correlate with the star formation rates (SFRs), stellar masses (M ), and environmental factors (such as metallicity, Z) of their host galaxy. Although there is evidence that XRB scaling relations (L X/SFR for high-mass XRBs (HMXBs) and L X/M for low-mass XRBs) may depend on metallicity and stellar age across large samples of XRB-hosting galaxies, disentangling the effects of metallicity and stellar age from stochastic effects, particularly on subgalactic scales, remains a challenge. We use archival X-ray through IR observations of the nearby galaxy NGC 300 to self-consistently model the broadband spectral energy distribution and examine radial trends in its XRB population. We measure a current (<100 Myr) SFR of 0.18 ± 0.08 M yr−1 and stellar mass M = ( 2.15 − 0.14 + 0.26 ) × 10 9 M. Although we measure a metallicity gradient and radially resolved star formation histories that are consistent with the literature, there is a clear excess in the number of X-ray sources below ∼1037 erg s−1 that are likely a mix of variable XRBs and additional background active galactic nuclei. When we compare the subgalactic L X/SFR ratios as a function of Z to the galaxy-integrated L X-SFR-Z relationships from the literature, we find that only the regions hosting the youngest (≲30 Myr) HMXBs agree with predictions, hinting at time evolution of the L X-SFR-Z relationship.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number97
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume969
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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