AstroSat UVIT Detections of Chandra X-Ray Sources in M31

Abstract

Abstract An ultraviolet (UV) survey of M31 has been carried out during 2017–19 with the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) instrument on board the AstroSat Observatory. Here we match the M31 UVIT source catalog with the Chandra source catalog. We find 67 UVIT/Chandra sources detected in a varying number of UV and X-ray bands. The UV and X-ray photometry is analyzed using power-law and blackbody models. The X-ray types include 15 low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and five active galactic nuclei. Crossmatches with catalogs of stars, clusters, and other source types yield the following: 20 of the UVIT/Chandra sources match with M31 globular clusters, and nine with foreground stars. Three more globular clusters and two more foreground stars are consistent with the UVIT source positions although outside the Chandra match radius of 1″. The UV emission of the UVIT/Chandra sources associated with globular clusters is consistent with emission from blue horizontal branch stars rather than from the X-ray source. The LMXBs in globular clusters are among the most luminous globular clusters in M31. Comparison with stellar evolutionary tracks shows that the UVIT/Chandra sources with high UV blackbody temperatures are consistent with massive (10–30 M ⊙) stars in M31.