
%0 Journal Article
%A Wu, Kinwah 
%T Populations of X-ray Binaries and the Dynamical History of their Host Galaxies
%J Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
%D 2002/01/14
%V 18
%N 4
%P 443-450
%K galaxies: evolution &#8212; X-ray: binaries
%R https://doi.org/10.1071/AS01055
%U https://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/AS01055 
%X The observed luminosity distributions of X-ray sources indicate the presence of several populations of X-ray binaries in the nearby galaxies. Each population has its formation and evolutionary history, depending on the host environment. The features seen in the log N(&#62;S)&#8211;log S curves for different types of galaxies and for different galactic components can be reproduced by a birth&#8211;death model, in which the lifespans of the binaries are inversely proportional to their X-ray brightness. Conversely, the dynamical history of a galaxy can be inferred from the luminosity distributions of its X-ray binary populations. 
