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XTEASSCAT - RXTE All-Sky Slew Survey Catalog

Overview

The Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) All-Sky Survey Slew Catalog contains the results of a serendipitous hard X-ray (3 - 20 keV), nearly all-sky (|b|>10 degrees) survey based on observations by RXTE's Proportional Counter Array (PCA) which were performed during satellite reorientations in the period 1996 - 2002. The survey is 80% (90%) complete to a 4-sigma limiting flux of ~1.8 (2.5)x10^-11 erg/s/cm^2 in the 3 - 20 keV band. The achieved sensitivity in the 3 - 8 keV and 8 - 20 keV subbands is similar to and an order of magnitude higher than that of the previously record HEAO-1 A1 and HEAO-1 A4 all-sky surveys, respectively. A combined 7 x 10^3 square degree area of the sky is sampled to flux levels below 10^-11 erg/s/cm^2 (3 - 20 keV). In total 294 sources are detected and localized to better than ~1 degree; 236 (80%) of these can be confidently associated with a known astrophysical object; 22 of these sources have multiple counterparts (17 have 2 counterparts and 5 have 3 counterparts) with which they have been identified, and as these are listed as separate entries, there are 321 entries in this table. 35 detected sources remain unidentified, although for 12 of these we report a likely soft X-ray counterpart from the ROSAT all-sky survey bright source catalog. Of the reliably identified sources, 63 have a local origin (Milky Way, LMC or SMC), 64 are clusters of galaxies and 100 are active galactic nuclei (AGN). The fact that the unidentified X-ray sources have hard spectra suggests that the majority of them are AGN, including highly obscured ones (hydrogen column density > 10^23 cm^-2). This dataset enabled the authors to present for the first time a log N - log S diagram for extragalactic sources above 4 x 10^-12 erg/s/cm^2 at 8 - 20 keV.

Catalog Bibcode

2004A&A...418..927R

References

RXTE All-Sky Slew Survey. Catalog of X-ray sources at |b|>10{deg}.
    Revnivtsev M., Sazonov S., Jahoda K., Gilfanov M.
    <Astron. Astrophys. 418, 927 (2004)>
    =2004A&A...418..927R        (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)

Provenance

This database table was created by the HEASARC in May 2004 based on CDS Catalog J/A+A/418/927.

HEASARC Implementation

The HEASARC has changed the broad_class values for 34 of the sources in this table from blank to 'A?' on the basis of their classification as AGN candidates in the associated table XTEASSAGN.

Parameters

Name
The source name in the catalog, where "XSS" stands for XTE Slew Survey and the numbers are the source equatorial coordinates in J2000.

RA
The Right Ascension of the source in the selected equinox. This was created by the HEASARC from the galactic coordinates for the source which were given in in the original table.

Dec
The Declination of the source in the selected equinox. This was created by the HEASARC from the galactic coordinates for the source which were given in in the original table.

LII
The Galactic Longitude of the source. This was given to a precision of 0.01 degrees in the original table.

BII
The Galactic Latitude of the source. This was given to a precision of 0.01 degrees in the original table.

Error_Radius
The localization region radius, in arcminutes. In cases where the standard procedure of fitting the collimator response to the source brightness was unreliable, a conservative estimate of the total localization uncertainty is given. Otherwise, the quoted value represents the 1-sigma statistical uncertainty.

Count_Rate_1
The source count rate in the 3 - 8 keV energy band, in counts/s/PCU (Proportional Counter Unit).

Count_Rate_1_Error
The 1-sigma statistical uncertainty in the source count rate in the 3 - 8 keV energy band, in counts/s/PCU.

Count_Rate_2
The source count rate in the 8 - 20 keV energy band, in counts/s/PCU (Proportional Counter Unit).

Count_Rate_2_Error
The 1-sigma statistical uncertainty in the source count rate in the 8 - 20 keV energy band, in counts/s/PCU.

Limit_Photon_Index
A flag parameter indicating that the photon index is an upper or lower limit. A lower (upper) limit is given in cases where the upper (lower) band flux measurement has a signal-to-noise ratio of less than 2.

Photon_Index
The effective slope (photon index) of the source spectrum. This estimate is based on the ratio of the 8 - 20 keV and 3 - 8 keV count rates.

Photon_Index_Error
The 1-sigma statistical uncertainty in the photon index.

Alt_Names
A common name of the astrophysical object with which the XSS source is identified. There may be several entries per XSS source. The identification procedure is described in Section 3.1 of the published paper.

Broad_Type
The general astrophysical type of the associated object according to the following scheme:

              L: local (source in the Milky Way, LMC or SMC)
              A: active galactic nucleus
              C: cluster of galaxies
              G: non-active galaxy
              O: other - afterglow of a gamma-ray burst

Detailed_Type
A more detailed classification of the object according to the following scheme: (i) for AGN (broad_type = "A") [AGN classification is mostly adopted from NED, otherwise references are provided]:

                  Q: quasar
                RQQ: radio-quite quasar
                RLQ: radio-loud quasar
                 BL: blasar (BL Lac object or flat-spectrum radio quasar)
                 S1: Seyfert 1 galaxy (types 1, 1.2 and 1.5)
               NLS1: narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy
                 S2: Seyfert 2 galaxy (types 1.8, 1.9 and 2)
                 RG: radio galaxy, BLRG -- broad-line radio galaxy
               NLRG: narrow-line radio galaxy
              LLAGN: low luminosity AGN

and (ii) for "local" sources (broad_type = "L"):

               XB: X-ray binary
                P: polar
               IP: intermediate polar
               DN: dwarf nova of SU, UG or ZC type
               NL: nova-like of VY type
                S: hot star
           RS CVn: RS CVn variable star
               SS: symbiotic star

Redshift
The redshift of the object (if known) for extragalactic sources.

Remarks
A key code for additional notes or references according to the following rubric:

              1: Veron-Cetty et al., 2001, Cat. <VII/224>
              2: Direct examination of the ROSAT all-sky survey map reveals a
                  source coinciding with the AGN
              3: Veron-Cetty Veron, 2003, Cat. <VII/235>
              4: or BL Lac object, Fischer et al., 1998, Cat. <IX/32>
              5: located in LMC
              6: Alcala et al., 1995, Cat. <J/A+AS/114/109>
              7: Pellegrini et al., 2000A&A...360..878P
              8: Schmid et al., 2003A&A...404..505S,
                 Della Ceca et al., 1990, Cat. <VII/181>
              9: Brinkmann et al., 1997, Cat. <J/A+A/319/413>
             10: Simpson et al., 1996MNRAS.281..509S
             11: Imanishi et al., 2001ApJ...557..747I
             12: Laurent-Muehleisen et al., 1997, Cat. <J/A+AS/122/235>
             13: Lara et al., 1999NewAR..43..643L

Class
The HEASARC Browse object classification based on the information in the broad_type and detailed_type parameters.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the XTEASSCAT database table can be addressed to the HEASARC User Hotline.

If you have any problems, please consult the help page or mail ledas-help@star.le.ac.uk

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