A Comprehensive Study of the X-ray Sources in the Galactic Center and Beyond

The Galactic center (GC) is home to the largest known concentration of exotic X-ray sources ever identified in our Galaxy. This menagerie includes a substantial number of accreting compact objects, such as low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) and cataclysmic variables (CVs). The study of compact objects in the GC has important implications for a wide range of topics, including galaxy evolution, dark matter properties (e.g. the origin of the Fermi GeV excess), and the rate of gravitational wave events. Despite their significance, thousands of faint GC X-ray sources, many of which are believed to be accreting compact objects, have to date remained unidentified. Utilizing data from two new groundbreaking surveys that were carried out with the XMM-Newton and Chandra observatories, we conduct a comprehensive study of the X-ray sources in the GC and the surrounding areas. We investigate the nature of the various source populations, as well as their spatial and luminosity distributions, and how they vary over distinct regions. Our study will provide novel observational insights into the origin and migration of stellar remnants in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (Sgr A*), and may allow us to test the accuracy of theories and simulations of GC dynamics.