Two X-ray Sources in 30 Doradus: Wolf-rayet + Black Hole Binaries?

I report the detection of two X-ray sources of luminosities ∼ 10 36 ergs s −1 in the central region of 30 Doradus. These two sources appear point-like in images taken with the ROSAT HRI. One of the sources is most likely associated with a close spectroscopic binary R140a2 (WN6) with an orbital period of 2.76 days. The mass of the unknown binary component is likely in the range of 2.4 − 15 M ⊙. This suggests that the X-ray source could represent a long-sought class of binaries containing a Wolf-Rayet star and a black hole. The other source, which coincides spatially with Mk34 (WN4.5), may have a similar nature. Available X-ray spectral data support this Wolf-Rayet + black-hole binary explanation of the two sources. I have used a ROSAT PSPC observation to show that the sources have ultrasoft spectra with possible intrinsic absorption. Modeled with multicolor blackbody disks, the spectra provide estimates of the disks' characteristic inner radii, which are in agreement with those obtained for the known black-hole candidates. An ASCA observation has further revealed a hard X-ray spectral component from the central 30 Doradus region. This component, represented by a power law with a photon index of ∼ 2.4, may belong to the two sources. The characteristics of both the power-law and ultrasoft components strongly indicates that the two sources are black-hole candidates in high-mass X-ray binaries.