A New Technique for Determining the Number of X‐Ray Sources per Flux Density Interval

We present a technique for determining the number of X-ray sources per flux density interval, the log N -log S relationship, that is mathematically analogous to spectral fitting. This technique is ideal for X-ray source counts obtained using the Chandra X-ray Observatory since the telescope and the focal plane instruments have been well modeled. This technique is of general applicability. In this paper, we apply it to a wavelet source-detect analysis of a Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-I) mosaic image of a 1.35 deg 2 survey of the Lockman Hole. We verify the technique via Monte Carlo simulations.