GeminiFocus January 2014 | Page 9

the X-ray emission is strongly beamed, however, and if the beaming axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane, then that would increase the ULX’s chance of being observed in such an apparently unlikely orientation. Even so, it would be bold to invoke observationally-disfavored beaming to argue that a system has a reasonable probability of containing an IMBH, given that beaming was first applied in this conte