Chandra observations of the ULX N10 in the Cartwheel galaxy

Fabio Pizzolato Anna Wolter Ginevra Trinchieri

Published 2010-03-24Version 1

The Cartwheel galaxy harbours more Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) than any other galaxy observed so far, and as such it is a particularly interesting target to study them. In this paper we analyse the three Chandra observations of the brightest ULX (N10) in the Cartwheel galaxy, in light of current theoretical models suggested to explain such still elusive objects. For each model we derive the relevant spectral parameters. Based on self--consistency arguments we can interpret N10 as an accreting binary system powered by a ~100 solar masses black hole. A young supernova strongly interacting with its surroundings is a likely alternative, that can be discarded only with the evidence of a flux increase from future observations.