NGC 4636 Chandra X-Ray Point Source Catalog: 277 Detections

277 X-ray point sources detected in the elliptical galaxy NGC 4636 from three Chandra observations totaling ~193 ks. The catalog, created by the HEASARC and hosted by NASA, includes analysis of source variability, luminosity functions, and associations with globular clusters. The data was last updated on the platform in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze the radial distribution of X-ray sources to distinguish between background AGN and galactic LMXBs based on the described 25%/75% split.
• Study long-term source variability over three years based on the 54 sources (24%) showing significant changes.
• Investigate the association between X-ray sources and globular clusters using the 77 matches described.
• Model the cumulative luminosity function using the provided power-law slope of Alpha = 1.14 +/- 0.03.
• Identify potential transient sources from the subset of 37 detected in only one observation.

Strengths

• Contains 277 individual point-source detections with a defined count threshold (>=10 net counts).
• Based on ~193 ks of observational data from the Chandra ACIS instrument over a three-year period.
• Includes detailed analysis of source types, variability, and correlations with optical globular cluster candidates.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific computational tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observational data from three Chandra X-ray telescope observations, processed with a wavelet decomposition detection algorithm.

Time Range

Observations taken over a three-year period (specific dates not provided).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:39:37.206963; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The nearby Virgo elliptical galaxy NGC 4636.