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April 26 (4:00PM) in the 2nd Floor Conference Room in Dearborn Speaker: Greg Sivakoff (Ohio State University) “Low-Mass X-ray Binaries and Globular Clusters in Early-Type Galaxies” The sub-arcsecond resolution of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has resolved the X-ray content of nearby early-type galaxies into low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and diffuse interstellar gas. Extragalactic low-mass X-ray binaries probe the massive stars formed billions of years ago in early-type galaxies and probe the properties of dense stellar environments (globular clusters). The ~50-200 bright LMXBs per galaxy are an incredible complementary sample to the ~150 active Galactic LMXBs; large LMXB samples reveal general LMXB properties and rare LMXB phenomena. I discuss results from single- and multi-epoch observations of individual galaxies. In particular, I highlight results comparing a sample of eleven early-type Virgo Cluster galaxies with Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys observations of globular clusters. Finally, I discuss future plans to explore the X-ray content of early-type galaxies. |