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Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope Study of the Globular Cluster NGC 288*

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Albert K. H. Kong1, Cees Bassa2, David Pooley3,4, Walter H. G. Lewin1, Lee Homer5, Frank Verbunt2, Scott F. Anderson5 and Bruce Margon6

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We report on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory observations of the globular cluster NGC 288. We detect four X-ray sources within the core radius and seven additional sources within the half-mass radius down to a limiting luminosity of LX = 7 × 1030 ergs s-1 (assuming cluster membership) in the 0.3-7 keV band. We also observed the cluster with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys and identify optical counterparts to seven X-ray sources out of the nine sources within the HST field of view. Based on the X-ray and optical properties, we find 2-5 candidates of cataclysmic variables (CVs) or chromospherically active binaries and 2-5 background galaxies inside the half-mass radius. Since the core density of NGC 288 is very low, the number of faint X-ray sources of NGC 288 found in the Chandra and HST observations is higher than the prediction on the basis of the collision frequency. We suggest that the CVs and chromospherically active binaries are primordial in origin, in agreement with the theoretical expectation.


Footnote
*  Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. These observations are associated with programs 10120 and 9959.
Subject headings

binaries: close; globular clusters: individual (NGC 288); novae, cataclysmic variables; X-rays: binaries


Dates

Issue 2 (2006 August 20)

Received 2006 March 9, accepted for publication 2006 April 28



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