A survey of X-ray point sources in the Magellanic Clouds

In this study we compare the global populations of stellar X-ray sources in the LMC, SMC, and the Galaxy. After removing foreground stars and background AGN from the samples, the relative numbers of the various types of X-ray point sources within the LMC and SMC are similar, but differ markedly from those in the Galaxy. The Magellanic Clouds are rich in high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXB), especially those containing rapidly rotating Be stars. However, the LMC and SMC both lack the large number of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) found in the Milky Way, which are known to represent a very old stellar population based on their kinematics, chemical composition, and spatial distribution.