The ACIS instrument on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been used to carry out the first systematic study of low-mass X-ray binaries ( LMXBs ) in M87 , the giant elliptical galaxy near the dynamical center of the Virgo Cluster .
These images — having a total exposure time of 154 ks — are the deepest X-ray observations yet obtained of M87 .
We identify 174 X-ray point-sources , of which \sim 150 are likely LMXBs .
This LMXB catalog is combined with deep F475W and F850LP images taken with ACS on HST ( as part of the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey ) to examine the connection between LMXBs and globular clusters in M87 .
Of the 1688 globular clusters in our catalog , f _ { X } = 3.6 \pm 0.5 % contain a LMXB .
Dividing the globular cluster sample by metallicity , we find that the metal-rich clusters are 3 \pm 1 times more likely to harbor a LMXB than their metal-poor counterparts .
In agreement with previous findings for other galaxies based on smaller LMXB samples , we find the efficiency of LMXB formation to scale with both cluster metallicity , Z , and luminosity , in the sense that brighter , more metal-rich clusters are more likely to contain a LMXB .
For the first time , however , we are able to demonstrate that the probability , p _ { X } , that a given cluster will contain a LMXB depends sensitively on the dynamical properties of the host cluster .
Specifically , we use the HST images to measure the half-light radius , concentration index and central density , \rho _ { 0 } , for each globular , and define a parameter , \Gamma , which is related to the tidal capture and binary-neutron star exchange rate .
Our preferred form for p _ { X } is then p _ { X } \propto \Gamma \rho _ { 0 } ^ { -0.42 \pm 0.11 } ( Z / Z _ { \odot } ) ^ { 0.33 \pm 0.1 } . 
We argue that if the form of p _ { X } is determined by dynamical processes , then the observed metallicity dependence is a consequence of an increased number of neutron stars per unit mass in metal-rich globular clusters .
Finally , we present a critical examination of the LMXB luminosity function in M87 and re-examine the published LMXB luminosity functions for M49 and NGC 4697 .
We find no compelling evidence for a break in the luminosity distribution of resolved X-ray point sources in any of these galaxies .
Instead , the LMXB luminosity function in all three galaxies is well described by a power law with an upper cutoff at L _ { X } \sim 10 ^ { 39 } erg s ^ { -1 } .