Hard X-ray emission from Starburst Galaxies with the NuSTAR Mission

ORAL

Abstract

Launched in mid-2012, NuSTAR is the first focusing hard X-ray (E\textgreater 10 keV) astronomical observatory. Hard X-ray emission from star-forming galaxies arises from a population of neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes, however few starburst galaxies have been detected above 10 keV. Here we present an overview of a program to survey six normal/starburst galaxies at hard X-ray energies. As of early 2013, only the NuSTAR-Chandra-VLBA multiwavelength campaign on NGC 253 has been performed, consisting of three observational periods. The monitoring was designed to (1) sensitively isolate the locations of X-ray binaries, (2) determine the nature of the accreting compact objects via their 0.5-30 keV spectral properties, and (3) identify interesting flaring X-ray/radio sources as they make spectral state transitions due to variability in their accretion. We will also discuss upcoming observations of the rest of the sample.

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Authors

  • Ann Hornschemeier

    • NASA GSFC

  • Megan Argo

    • ASTRON

  • Keith Bechtol

    • KICP, University of Chicago

  • Steve Boggs

    • University of California, Berkeley

  • Finn Christensen

    • DTU Space

  • William Craig

    • University of California, Berkeley

  • Charles Hailey

    • Columbia University

  • Fiona Harrison

    • Cal Inst of Tech (Caltech)
    • California Institute of Technology

  • Bret Lehmer

    • Johns Hopkins University

  • J.-C. Leyder

    • NASA GSFC/USRA

  • Thomas Maccarone

    • Texas Tech University

  • Andrew Ptak

    • NASA GSFC

  • Daniel Stern

    • NASA JPL

  • Tonia Venters

    • NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    • NASA
    • NASA GSFC

  • Daniel Wik

    • NASA GSFC

  • Andreas Zezas

    • Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

  • William Zhang

    • NASA GSFC