Program: GN-2010B-Q-58

Title:Black Holes and X-ray Binaries in the Youngest Nearby Starburst Galaxy IC 10.
PI:Silas Laycock
Co-I(s): Andrea Prestwich, Roy Kilgard

Abstract

We have discovered a large population of X-ray binaries in the nearby starburst galaxy IC 10 using the Chandra X-ray observatory. Due to the youth of IC 10, these XRBs should be dominated by the most massive stars and their relics: black holes. Using archival Gemini narrow-band imaging, HST images and photometric catalogs we have identified optical counterparts for 35% of the X-ray sources. We request a GMOS-N MOS observation to learn the XRB spectral types, identify WR and Be stars via He II and H-alpha emission lines, and confirm IC 10 membership via radial velocity. IC 10 is the only nearby starburst, and provides a unique age/metallicity segregated population, which can be efficiently studied with a single GMOS mask. Comparison of IC 10 with the Galaxy, M31 and Magellanic Clouds provides a direct and powerful probe of the role of age and environment in the evolution of XRB populations in star forming galaxies. We will also refine the orbit of the most massive known black-hole binary IC10 X-1, and examine spectral lines at different points in its orbit to probe its wind and irradiation of the companion.

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