Expected number of supergiant fast X-ray transients in the Milky Way

Abstract

In the past fifteen years a new generation of X-ray satellites led to the discovery of a subclass of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) with supergiant companions and a peculiar transient behaviour: supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs). We calculate the expected number of Galactic SFXTs for the first time, using two different statistical approaches and two sets of data based on Swift and INTEGRAL surveys, with the aim to determine how common the SFXT phenomenon really is. We find that the expected number of SFXTs in the Galaxy is 37 +53-22, which shows that SFXTs constitute a large portion of X-ray binaries with supergiant companions in the Galaxy. We compare our estimate with the expected number of Galactic HMXBs predicted from observations and evolutionary models and discuss the implications for the nature of SFXTs. © ESO, 2014.