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Ultraluminous X-ray source

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are point-like, extragalactic X-ray emitters located away from the nuclei of their host galaxies, characterized by apparent isotropic X-ray luminosities exceeding $10^{39} erg s^{-1} in the 0.3–10 keV band, corresponding to luminosities exceeding the Eddington limit for a typical stellar-mass black hole (\sim10 M_\odot).^[1] These sources were first systematically identified in the early 2000s using high-resolution X-ray observatories like Chandra, revealing thousands of such objects predominantly in star-forming galaxies.^[2]^[3] ULXs exhibit diverse spectral states, often displaying soft thermal components alongside hard power-law emission, and some show variability on timescales from milliseconds to years, suggesting compact object accretion as their power source.^[4] Key observational features of ULXs include their association with young stellar populations, implying a link to massive star formation, and the detection of optical and radio counterparts in a subset, which provide constraints on their environments and potential donor stars.^[1] Spectroscopically, many ULXs resemble super-Eddington accretion flows, with evidence for strong outflows and winds that could explain their extreme brightness without invoking exotic physics.^[4] A notable subclass consists of pulsating ULXs (PULXs), where coherent X-ray pulsations indicate neutron star accretors, challenging traditional luminosity limits through mechanisms like magnetically channeled accretion and propeller effects, including a newly discovered source with a 9.66 s period reported in 2025.^[5] Theoretically, ULXs are interpreted through several models: intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) of 100–10,000 solar masses accreting at or near their Eddington limits; stellar-mass black holes or neutron stars undergoing highly super-Eddington accretion with substantial beaming due to geometric collimation; or, in some cases, background active galactic nuclei misidentified as local sources.^[1] Recent discoveries, such as the identification of cyclotron resonance scattering features in PULX spectra, support magnetic fields around $10^{12–13} G for their neutron stars, while the lack of confirmed IMBH candidates highlights ongoing debates about their formation channels, possibly via direct collapse of massive stars or mergers in dense clusters. Population studies indicate ULX numbers scale with host galaxy star formation rate, with rarer occurrences in ellipticals attributable to older low-mass X-ray binaries at the high-luminosity tail.^[6] Advances in multi-wavelength monitoring continue to refine these models, emphasizing the role of ULXs in probing accretion physics and compact object demographics.^[7]

Definition and Fundamentals

Definition and Luminosity Criteria

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are defined as extragalactic, off-nuclear, point-like X-ray sources with an apparent isotropic X-ray luminosity exceeding $10^{39} erg s^{-1} in the 0.3–10 keV band, typically ranging from $10^{39} to $10^{41} erg s^{-1}.^[8]^[9] These sources are distinct from galactic X-ray binaries (XRBs), which are binary systems consisting of a compact object—such as a neutron star or black hole—accreting material from an orbiting companion star, producing X-ray emission on smaller scales within the Milky Way.^[10] In contrast to active galactic nuclei (AGN), which are compact regions at the centers of galaxies powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes (M \gtrsim 10^6 M_\odot), ULXs are located away from galactic nuclei and exhibit luminosities intermediate between typical XRBs and AGN. The luminosity criterion for ULXs is rooted in the Eddington luminosity limit, which represents the maximum luminosity sustainable by radiation pressure balancing gravitational attraction in an accreting system. For a black hole, this limit is given by

L_{\rm Edd} = 1.3 \times 10^{38} \left( \frac{M}{M_\odot} \right) \, \rm erg \, s^{-1},

where M is the black hole mass in solar masses (M_\odot).^[2] For a stellar-mass black hole of $10 \, M_\odot, L_{\rm Edd} \approx 1.3 \times 10^{39} erg s^{-1}, meaning the ULX threshold corresponds roughly to the Eddington limit for such objects. However, many ULXs reach luminosities exceeding $100 \, L_{\rm Edd} for a $10 \, M_\odot black hole, implying either intermediate-mass black holes (M \sim 10^2 - 10^5 M_\odot) or super-Eddington accretion processes to explain their extreme output without violating physical limits.^[8] The luminosities of ULXs are inferred assuming isotropic emission, where the observed flux is converted to luminosity using the source's distance and a spherical emission model. This isotropic equivalent luminosity may overestimate the intrinsic value if beaming effects—such as collimated outflows from accretion disks—direct radiation preferentially along certain axes, potentially reducing the true bolometric luminosity by factors of 10 or more.^[11] Such considerations highlight the need for multiwavelength observations to assess geometric effects, though the $10^{39} erg s^{-1} threshold remains the standard for classification regardless of beaming.^[8]

Distinction from Other High-Luminosity X-ray Sources

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are primarily distinguished from stellar-mass X-ray binaries (XRBs) by their exceptionally high X-ray luminosities, which surpass the typical upper limit of approximately $10^{38} erg s^{-1} observed in Galactic XRBs by one to two orders of magnitude.^[12] While both classes originate from compact objects accreting in binary systems within stellar environments, ULXs are typically detected as point sources in external galaxies, reflecting their extragalactic nature and higher intrinsic output compared to the more modest, often transient emissions from stellar-mass XRBs.^[8] In contrast to active galactic nuclei (AGN), ULXs are located off-nuclear within their host galaxies, generally offset from the central regions by distances greater than 100 pc, and their luminosities remain sub-Eddington for supermassive black holes of $10^6 M_\odot or larger.^[12] Furthermore, ULXs do not exhibit the broad emission lines in optical spectra that are hallmarks of AGN accretion disks around massive black holes.^[8] ULXs can be differentiated from supernova remnants (SNRs) and tidal disruption events (TDEs) through their long-term persistence, maintaining detectable X-ray emission over years to decades, unlike the gradually fading output of SNRs or the flares of TDEs that decay over months to years.^[8] SNRs often appear as extended, diffuse structures associated with shock-heated gas, whereas TDEs are predominantly linked to nuclear regions.^[12] Identification of ULXs relies on specific diagnostic criteria, including their point-like morphology in X-ray observations, the absence of bright optical counterparts indicative of massive host systems such as AGN, and positional offsets from galaxy nuclei exceeding 100 pc on average.^[8] These features, combined with luminosities above $10^{39} erg s^{-1}, help avoid misclassification with background contaminants or other high-luminosity phenomena.^[12]

Historical Development

Early Discoveries

The first detections of what would later be classified as ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) occurred in the early 1980s using the Einstein Observatory, the first satellite capable of imaging X-ray sources in external galaxies with sufficient resolution to distinguish off-nuclear point sources. Observations of the nearby spiral galaxy M33 revealed multiple discrete X-ray sources, including one with a luminosity exceeding $10^{39} erg s^{-1}, marking the initial identification of such exceptionally bright, extranuclear objects. A comprehensive review of Einstein data across various galaxies confirmed the presence of these luminous, non-nuclear X-ray emitters, highlighting their potential significance as a distinct population beyond typical stellar-mass binaries. In the 1990s, the ROSAT satellite's High Resolution Imager (HRI) expanded surveys of nearby galaxies, identifying dozens of candidate ULXs through deeper and more sensitive observations that resolved point sources in galactic disks and companions. For instance, a targeted ROSAT HRI survey of bright nearby spirals detected over 20 off-nuclear sources with luminosities in the ULX range, emphasizing their prevalence in star-forming environments. Concurrently, the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA), launched in 1993, provided broadband spectral coverage that revealed approximately 87 extranuclear X-ray point sources across 54 nearby galaxies with luminosities exceeding $10^{39} erg s^{-1}, significantly increasing the known sample and enabling initial characterizations of their hard spectra.^[13] The term "ultraluminous X-ray source" (ULX) was formally introduced around 2000 to describe this emerging class of off-nuclear objects with apparent isotropic luminosities surpassing the Eddington limit for a 10 solar mass black hole, based on analyses of ASCA and earlier data from edge-on galaxies like NGC 4565, where compact sources were isolated despite projection effects. By 2001, theoretical interpretations began to emphasize their super-Eddington nature, proposing mechanisms such as beamed emission or intermediate-mass black holes to explain luminosities up to $10^{40}- $10^{41} erg s^{-1} without violating accretion physics. Early identifications faced significant challenges, including limited angular resolution in Einstein and ROSAT data (often ~10-30 arcseconds), which led to potential contamination from background active galactic nuclei (AGN) misaligned with galactic features, and confusion with nuclear emission in unresolved systems.

Evolution of Observations and Catalogues

The advent of high-resolution X-ray observatories like Chandra and XMM-Newton in the early 2000s revolutionized the study of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), enabling precise imaging and spectroscopy that distinguished these off-nuclear sources from galactic centers and background active galactic nuclei.^[14] By 2011, systematic surveys using these instruments had identified approximately 470 ULX candidates across nearby galaxies, marking a significant increase from earlier detections and facilitating detailed population studies. Key advancements in ULX research during this period included the development of comprehensive catalogues and classification schemes to organize the growing dataset. In 2013, Sutton et al. proposed an empirical spectral classification dividing ULXs into three categories—broadened disc, hard ultraluminous, and soft ultraluminous—based on X-ray spectral shapes, which provided a framework for interpreting accretion states and distinguishing physical mechanisms.^[15] Building on XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogues, Earnshaw et al. (2019) compiled a cleaned sample of 384 candidate ULXs from nearby galaxies, emphasizing reliable associations and reducing contaminants to enable robust statistical analyses.^[16] The 2020s brought further expansion through all-sky surveys, notably with eROSITA aboard SRG, which detected 89 strong ULX candidates in its first all-sky scan (eRASS1) and contributed to multimission catalogues by identifying new sources in understudied regions.^[17] Integrating eROSITA data with Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift, and NuSTAR observations, an expanded catalogue in 2022 identified 779 ULX candidates from 1452 detections across 517 galaxies, nearly doubling previous samples and highlighting eROSITA's role in adding hundreds of new entries.^[7] By 2025, the total number of known ULXs exceeded 1800, reflecting the cumulative impact of these surveys on uncovering a diverse population. A pivotal milestone occurred in 2014 with the detection of coherent pulsations from M82 X-2 using NuSTAR observations, confirming it as a neutron star accreting at super-Eddington rates and challenging prior assumptions of black hole dominance in ULXs. Concurrently, integration of multiwavelength data advanced ULX characterization; Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical and UV observations revealed correlations between X-ray luminosities and UV fluxes in several systems, aiding identification of counterparts and constraints on donor stars.^[18]

Observational Characteristics

Spectral and Temporal Properties

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) typically exhibit a characteristic ultraluminous spectral state dominated by two thermal components: a soft excess below 1 keV, often modeled as a multicolour disk blackbody, and a high-energy tail extending up to ~10 keV, fitted with a cutoff power-law spectrum with photon index Γ ≈ 1.5–2.5.^[14] This spectral form distinguishes ULXs from standard Galactic X-ray binaries, suggesting a distinct accretion regime, though the exact shape can vary with source luminosity and state.^[1] Hardness-intensity diagrams (HIDs) for ULXs reveal state transitions analogous to those in X-ray binaries (XRBs), but occurring at significantly higher luminosities, with hardness ratios decreasing as intensity increases, indicating shifts between softer, disk-dominated emission and harder power-law components.^[14] For instance, in the ULX Holmberg IX X-1, the HID tracks show a q-shaped pattern similar to sub-Eddington XRBs, but scaled to luminosities exceeding 10^{40} erg s^{-1}.^[19] Temporally, ULXs display short-term variability on timescales of seconds to days, with fractional rms amplitudes reaching up to 40–50%, often stronger in the hard band above 1 keV and linked to clumpy wind structures in the accretion flow.^[1] Long-term changes over months to years include luminosity variations by factors of 10 or more and spectral state transitions, as seen in M81 X-6 where accretion rates fluctuated across three distinct states.^[20] Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are detected in some ULXs at frequencies around 0.1–3 Hz, providing evidence for dynamical processes near the accretor.^[14]^[1] On average, the disk blackbody component in ULX spectra has temperatures kT ≈ 0.1–0.3 keV, cooler than in typical XRBs, consistent with larger accretor sizes or modified disk geometries.^[14] Many ULXs show a lack of prominent iron emission lines, unlike in AGN or XRBs, which may indicate ionization effects from high accretion rates or geometric obscuration by outflows.^[14]

Spatial Distribution and Multiwavelength Data

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) exhibit a clear preference for star-forming regions within their host galaxies, such as spiral arms and disks, rather than central bulges or halos. This distribution aligns with the locations of high-mass X-ray binaries, reflecting the youth of ULX progenitor systems. Observations indicate that ULXs are often found near regions of active star formation, with a significant fraction—approximately 60% in optically bright environments—associated with H II regions or similar blue, star-forming complexes. Many ULXs are associated with young stellar clusters, suggesting formation in dense environments conducive to binary evolution involving massive stars.^[21]^[22]^[23] The incidence of ULXs correlates strongly with host galaxy properties, particularly those favoring high star formation rates and low metallicities. ULXs are more abundant in starburst and irregular galaxies compared to ellipticals, with number densities up to 7–10 times higher in low-metallicity environments (Z/Z_⊙ < 0.1). This trend supports theoretical models where reduced wind mass loss in metal-poor conditions allows for the retention of massive companions in binary systems. In elliptical galaxies, ULXs are rarer and typically linked to older populations, though some recent star formation episodes can host them.^[23]^[24]^[25] Multiwavelength observations beyond X-rays provide crucial insights into ULX environments and companions. Optical and ultraviolet counterparts are detected for roughly 30% of ULXs using high-resolution Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, often appearing as faint, blue sources with absolute V-band magnitudes in the range -3 to -8. Photometric analysis of these counterparts frequently infers massive donor stars, such as supergiants with masses of 10–20 M_⊙, consistent with irradiated accretion disks or direct stellar emission. Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations as of 2025 further reveal infrared properties, aiding identification of donor stars and dusty environments.^[26]^[27]^[28] In the radio and infrared regimes, detections are less common but reveal dynamic interactions with surrounding media. Compact radio sources, potentially from relativistic jets, are identified in about 20% of well-studied ULXs, with synchrotron emission indicating shocks or outflows powered by super-Eddington accretion. Infrared excesses, observed in a subset of "red" ULXs via Spitzer, arise from thermal emission by circumbinary or circumstellar dust heated to temperatures typical of red supergiant shells, highlighting dusty environments around some systems. These multiwavelength features underscore the energetic feedback from ULXs into their galactic neighborhoods.^[23]^[29]

Theoretical Models

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Accretion

One proposed formation mechanism for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), with masses in the range of 100–10,000 M_\odot, is the direct collapse of very massive Population III stars in the early universe. Another pathway involves runaway mergers of stars in dense young star clusters, leading to the collapse of a supermassive star that seeds an IMBH. These processes are particularly relevant for ULXs associated with young stellar environments, where such clusters are prevalent. In the context of ULX models, IMBHs are thought to accrete material via the standard thin-disk paradigm, where the X-ray luminosity approaches the Eddington limit, L_X \approx L_\mathrm{Edd} \propto M_\mathrm{BH}.^[30] For black hole masses of M_\mathrm{BH} \sim 100–$1000\,M_\odot, this yields luminosities on the order of $10^{40} erg s^{-1}, aligning with observed ULX outputs without requiring super-Eddington rates. The resulting accretion disk spectra are expected to be dominated by thermal emission from cooler disks, with characteristic inner-disk temperatures kT \sim 0.1 keV, contrasting with hotter spectra from stellar-mass accretors. Evidence supporting IMBH accretion in ULXs includes dynamical mass estimates derived from optical counterparts. For instance, in the ULX HLX-1 in ESO 243–49, photometric and kinematic analysis of the surrounding stellar cluster indicates a central black hole mass exceeding $10^4\,M_\odot. Similar constraints from optical spectroscopy in other systems, such as M82 X-1, suggest masses greater than $100\,M_\odot.^[31] Additionally, the absence of X-ray pulsations in most classical ULXs points to black hole accretors rather than rotating neutron stars.^[30] Despite these indicators, IMBH models face significant challenges, including the overall rarity of confirmed IMBHs in the local universe. Forming stable binaries is particularly difficult, as IMBHs in dense clusters are prone to dynamical ejection, and surviving systems evolve rapidly, limiting the ULX phase to short timescales of \sim 10^4 years.^[32]

Super-Eddington Accretion onto Neutron Stars and Stellar-Mass Black Holes

Super-Eddington accretion refers to scenarios where the luminosity exceeds the Eddington limit by factors greater than 100 times, enabling ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) to be powered by neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes of 1.4–10 M_⊙ rather than requiring more massive objects. In this regime, slim-disk models describe optically thick, geometrically thick accretion flows where photon trapping and radial advection of energy dominate, reducing the effective radiation pressure and allowing sustained high accretion rates without disk disruption.^[33] These models predict that a significant fraction of the gravitational energy is advected inward rather than radiated, facilitating luminosities up to L > 100 L_Edd while maintaining disk stability. For neutron stars, the strong magnetic fields (typically ~10^{12} G) play a crucial role in channeling the accretion flow along field lines toward the magnetic poles, forming accretion columns where X-rays are emitted.^[34] At high accretion rates, the propeller effect can temporarily inhibit material from reaching the surface by flinging it away via rapid rotation, leading to luminosity variations, though super-Eddington torques can spin up the neutron star and overcome this barrier.^[35] Pulsations arise from the rotating neutron star's magnetic axis misalignment with the spin axis, with observed periods ranging from 1 to 10 seconds in pulsating ULXs, providing direct evidence of neutron star accretion. In the case of stellar-mass black holes, super-Eddington accretion leads to geometrically thick, puffed-up disks where the inner regions form a funnel-like structure, beaming radiation along the disk axis and enhancing the apparent isotropic luminosity.^[33] Strong winds launched from the disk surface collimate the outflow, further amplifying the observed flux by reducing the beaming angle and contributing to the high-energy emission. Observational support for these models includes high-velocity outflows detected in ULX spectra, with speeds of 0.1–0.3c indicating powerful disk winds consistent with super-Eddington conditions.^[36] Additionally, cyclotron resonant scattering features in some spectra, such as a potential line at ~13 keV in NGC 300 ULX-1, imply neutron star magnetic fields around 10^{12} G, aligning with the requirements for channeled accretion.^[37]

Notable Examples

Classical Non-Pulsating ULXs

Classical non-pulsating ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are persistent, bright X-ray emitters located off the nuclei of nearby galaxies, typically exhibiting luminosities exceeding $10^{40} erg s^{-1} without evidence of pulsations that would indicate neutron star spin.^[7] Multiwavelength observations, particularly in the optical band, often reveal counterparts consistent with massive donor stars in binary systems, supporting scenarios involving super-Eddington accretion onto black holes.^[38] These sources provide key tests for theoretical models, as their steady emission and spectral properties favor interpretations involving intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) or beamed emission from stellar-mass black holes, rather than highly magnetized neutron stars. One prominent example is M82 X-1, located in the starburst galaxy M82 at a distance of approximately 3.5 Mpc.^[39] This source displays an X-ray luminosity of around $10^{40} erg s^{-1}, with variability across different spectral states observed in broadband analyses using Chandra and NuSTAR telescopes.^[40] Its hard spectrum with a cutoff at about 6 keV has led to proposals of an IMBH accretor with a mass of hundreds of solar masses, or alternatively, a stellar-mass black hole with beamed emission to explain the apparent super-Eddington luminosity. Holmberg IX X-1, situated in the irregular galaxy Holmberg IX (a satellite of M81), is another archetypal non-pulsating ULX with a luminosity typically around $10^{40} erg s^{-1}.^[38] Optical observations with Subaru and Hubble Space Telescope identify a counterpart with photometric properties indicating a massive donor star of 20–30 M_\odot, embedded in a young stellar cluster, which aligns with binary evolution models for high-mass X-ray binaries.^[38] Spectral studies favor super-Eddington accretion onto a stellar-mass black hole, potentially with a thick, geometrically beaming disk, over IMBH scenarios due to the consistency with the donor mass and lack of extreme hardness in the X-ray spectrum.^[41] NGC 5408 X-1, hosted in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5408 at about 4 Mpc, exemplifies ULXs in ultraluminous states characterized by soft X-ray spectra peaking below 1 keV.^[42] High-resolution XMM-Newton spectroscopy reveals blueshifted absorption lines from ionized iron, providing evidence for powerful outflows at velocities up to 0.2–0.3c, likely driven by radiation pressure in a super-Eddington accretion flow. These winds, detected in multiple epochs, support models of slim accretion disks around black holes, where the soft spectrum arises from the inner disk regions exposed due to geometric collimation.^[43]

Pulsating ULXs and Recent Discoveries

Pulsating ultraluminous X-ray sources (PULXs) represent a subset of ULXs where coherent X-ray pulsations reveal the presence of accreting neutron stars, challenging earlier assumptions that most ULXs harbor intermediate-mass black holes. The first such discovery occurred in 2014 with M82 X-2, identified through NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations revealing pulsations with a period of approximately 1.37 seconds, indicating a neutron star accreting at super-Eddington rates that produce torques driving spin evolution.^[44] This breakthrough demonstrated that neutron stars could power ULX luminosities exceeding 10^{40} erg s^{-1} via highly super-Eddington accretion, where the propeller effect is suppressed, allowing material to reach the neutron star surface.^[45] Subsequent observations in the 2020s further confirmed neutron star nature in other systems, such as NGC 7793 P13, where pulsations with a spin period of 0.42 seconds were detected using NuSTAR and XMM-Newton data, establishing it as the second confirmed PULX.^[46] Long-term monitoring has shown variable spin-up and spin-down behavior in NGC 7793 P13, consistent with magnetic dipole braking modulated by accretion torques, with the neutron star's magnetic field estimated at around 10^{12} G via dipole models.^[47] These studies highlight how super-Eddington accretion funnels onto the magnetic poles, producing the observed pulsations and spectral properties distinct from non-pulsating ULXs. A notable recent advancement came in July 2025, when XMM-Newton observations of the galaxy NGC 4631 uncovered pulsations with a period of 9.66 seconds from a newly identified transient ULX, designated X-8, marking it as a short-lived outburst source with luminosities indicative of super-Eddington neutron star accretion.^[48] This discovery, the first transient PULX reported in 2025, exhibited one of the highest spin-up rates among known examples, underscoring the dynamic nature of these systems. By late 2025, approximately 10 confirmed PULXs have been identified, collectively favoring neutron star models over black hole interpretations for a significant fraction of ULXs, with typical spin-up rates on the order of \dot{\nu} \sim 10^{-11} , \mathrm{Hz , s^{-1}} derived from long-term timing analyses. These findings emphasize the role of strong magnetic fields in enabling extreme accretion, providing key tests for theoretical models of PULX evolution.

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[39]
An ultraluminous X-ray source powered by an accreting neutron star
Oct 8, 2014 · Here we report broadband X-ray observations of the nuclear region of the galaxy M82 that reveal pulsations with an average period of 1.37 seconds and a 2.5-day ...Missing: M82 2
[40]
On the Magnetic Field of the Ultraluminous X-Ray Pulsar M82 X-2
The sinusoidal pulse profiles observed in both M82 X-2 (Bachetti et al. 2014) and XMMU J235751.1−323725 in NGC 7793 P13 (Fürst et al. 2016) seem to suggest ...
[41]
Discovery of a 0.42-s pulsar in the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC ...
Sep 21, 2016 · These findings unambiguously demonstrate that the compact object in NGC 7793 P13 is a neutron star accreting at super-Eddington rates. While ...
[42]
On the Magnetic Fields, Beaming Fractions, and Fastness ...
Aug 17, 2020 · ... magnetic dipole field strengths, beaming fractions, and fastness parameters in the PULX M82 X-2, ULX NGC 5907, ULX NGC 7793 P13, NGC 300 ...
[43]
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/814/1/73