The bubble nebula surrounding NGC 1313 X-2 is believed to be powered by high
velocity winds from the central ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) as a result of
supercritical accretion. With the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE)
observation of the nebula, we find enhanced OIII emission at locations
spatially coincident with clusters of stars and the central X-ray source,
suggesting that photoionization in addition to shock-ionization plays an
important role in powering the nebula. The X-ray luminosity of the ULX and the
number of massive stars in the nebula region can account for the required
ionizing luminosity derived with MAPPINGS V, which also confirms that pure
shocks cannot explain the observed emission line ratios.
Preprint
Comment: ApJ to appear
Subject: Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena