Speaker
Description
Since its launch in 2012, NuSTAR, as the first imaging X-ray observatory to operate in the 3-80 keV band, has executed an observing program on normal and starburst galaxies, including several galaxies in the Local Group, through a combination of science team, Legacy project, and Guest Observer time. We report on recent results from a synthesis analysis of a dozen galaxies observed by NuSTAR, including an analysis that divides X-ray binaries by compact object type (neutron star vs black hole), and measurement of the overall hard X-ray SED of galaxies. We have found a nearly universal turnover in the hard X-ray SED that may be attributed to super-Eddington accretion onto ULX sources. We have also found that the NS Luminosity function may have a turnover near the Eddington limit for a 1.4 solar mass NS. We discuss our findings on NS/BH ratios in galaxies and prospects for the future. In closing, we touch upon follow up in the harder X-ray band by NuSTAR and successor facilities of interesting subclasses of eROSITA-observed galaxies.
