Date Presented:

2008/05/1

Abstract:

We present preliminary results from a study of the X-ray source population and the star formation history (SFH) of the nearby galaxy M81, based on archival Chandra data and our HST/ACS survey. These data provide the deepest and most detailed picture of the stellar populations in this prototypical spiral galaxy. The preliminary analysis of the ACS data shows variations of the SFH across the galaxy. The Chandra observations allow us to classify the X-ray sources and study their link with the SFH. In combination with the ACS data we can identify their optical counterparts and classify them, based on their photometric properties. We can classify 80% of the detected X-ray sources as OB stars, globular clusters, giant/supergiant stars, and background AGNs, demonstrating the diagnostic power of combining high spatial resolution optical and X-ray observations.

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