New Insights into X-ray Emissions from Blueberry Galaxies

Recent observations of Blueberry galaxies (BBs) have provided new insights into their X-ray properties. These galaxies are compact and exhibit intense star formation, making them important analogues of early universe galaxies. The research, conducted using the XMM-Newton satellite, aimed to determine whether the X-ray emissions from BBs align with established empirical laws for star-forming galaxies.

The study involved a small sample of BBs, with clear X-ray detection achieved for only two sources. One of these sources showed an enhanced X-ray luminosity compared to expected scaling relations, while the remaining five sources were found to be underluminous, with only upper limits on their emissions. This suggests that BBs may not conform to the typical relationships observed between star formation rates, metallicity, and X-ray luminosity.

The findings indicate that the variability in X-ray emissions among BBs cannot be easily attributed to stochastic effects. The bright source's luminosity raises questions about the potential presence of additional X-ray sources, such as hidden active galactic nuclei or ultraluminous X-ray sources.

These observations challenge the existing understanding of the relationship between star formation and X-ray emissions in galaxies, suggesting that BBs, with their high specific star formation rates, may require a reevaluation of the empirical laws traditionally applied to star-forming galaxies. The implications of this research could influence future studies on galaxy formation and evolution, particularly in understanding the characteristics of compact galaxies in the universe.

For further details, the study is documented in the paper titled "X-ray observations of Blueberry galaxies" by B. Adamcová et al., available at arXiv:2408.13572.