Scientific article
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The Stellar-age Dependence of X-Ray Emission from Normal Star-forming Galaxies in the GOODS Fields

Published inThe Astrophysical journal, vol. 926, no. 1, 28
Publication date2022-02-01
First online date2022-02-09
Abstract

The Chandra Deep Field-South and North surveys (CDFs) provide unique windows into the cosmic history of X-ray emission from normal (nonactive) galaxies. Scaling relations of normal-galaxy X-ray luminosity ( L X ) with star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass ( M ) have been used to show that the formation rates of low-mass and high-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs and HMXBs, respectively) evolve with redshift across z ≈ 0–2 following L HMXB /SFR ∝ (1 + z ) and L LMXB / M ∝ (1 + z ) 2−3 . However, these measurements alone do not directly reveal the physical mechanisms behind the redshift evolution of X-ray binaries (XRBs). We derive star formation histories for a sample of 344 normal galaxies in the CDFs, using spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting of FUV-to-FIR photometric data, and construct a self-consistent, age-dependent model of the X-ray emission from the galaxies. Our model quantifies how X-ray emission from hot gas and XRB populations vary as functions of host stellar-population age. We find that (1) the ratio L X / M declines by a factor of ∼1000 from 0 to 10 Gyr and (2) the X-ray SED becomes harder with increasing age, consistent with a scenario in which the hot gas contribution to the X-ray SED declines quickly for ages above 10 Myr. When dividing our sample into subsets based on metallicity, we find some indication that L X / M is elevated for low-metallicity galaxies, consistent with recent studies of X-ray scaling relations. However, additional statistical constraints are required to quantify both the age and metallicity dependence of X-ray emission from star-forming galaxies.

Funding
  • NASA ∣ Stennis Space Center [80NSSC20K0444]
  • SI ∣ Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory [AR9-20008X]
Citation (ISO format)
GILBERTSON, Woodrow et al. The Stellar-age Dependence of X-Ray Emission from Normal Star-forming Galaxies in the GOODS Fields. In: The Astrophysical journal, 2022, vol. 926, n° 1, p. 28. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac4049
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Journal ISSN0004-637X
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