Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Catalog: 187 Galactic and Magellanic Cloud Sources

The Fourth Edition of the Catalog of Low-mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) contains 187 sources in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. NASA HEASARC created this online catalog in September 2007 based on tables from the ADC/CDS data centers. It provides source names, coordinates, X-ray flux, system parameters, and references to literature published before October 2006.

Use Cases

• Classifying X-ray binary systems based on source parameters and flux data.
• Cross-referencing astronomical objects across gamma-ray, UV, optical, IR, and radio wavelengths.
• Identifying candidate low-mass X-ray binaries for further observational study.
• Analyzing stellar and system parameters for population studies of binary stars.

Strengths

• Contains 187 low-mass X-ray binary sources.
• Includes references to a comprehensive selection of relevant literature.
• Provides multi-wavelength counterpart information for many sources.

Limitations

• Some sources are only tentatively identified as low-mass X-ray binaries.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Literature coverage ends in October 2006; newer discoveries are not included.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on tables from ADC/CDS data centers (catalog J/A+A/469/807).

Collection Method

Compilation from published literature and astronomical observations.

Time Range

Literature published before 1 October 2006.

Freshness

Catalog data current to 2006; platform metadata updated 2026-03-13.

Geography

Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds.