  The starburst / AGN galaxy M82 was studied by Dahlem, Weaver and Heckman
using X-ray data from ROSAT and ASCA, as part of their X-ray survey of edge-on
starburst galaxies. They found seventeen unresolved hard-X-ray sources around
M82, in addition to its strong nuclear source, and other X-rays within the main
body of M82. We have measured optical point sources at these positions, and
have obtained redshifts of six candidates at the Keck I 10-m telescope, using
the low-resolution imaging spectrograph (LRIS). All six are highly compact
optical and X-ray objects with redshifts ranging from 0.111 to 1.086. They all
show emission lines. The three with the highest redshifts are clearly QSOs. The
others with lower redshifts may either be QSOs or compact emission-line
galaxies. In addition to these six there are nine QSOs lying very close to M82
which were discovered many years ago. There is no difference between optical
spectra of these latter QSOs, only two of which are known to be X-ray sources,
and the X-ray emitting QSOs. The redshifts of all fifteen range between 0.111
and 2.05. The large number of QSOs and their apparent association with ejected
matter from M82 suggest that they are physically associated with the galaxy,
and have large intrinsic redshift components. If this is correct, the absolute
magnitudes lie in the range -8 < M_v < -10. Also we speculate that the luminous
variable X-ray source which has been detected by Chandra in the main body of
M82 some 9 arcseconds from the center is another QSO in the process of ejection
from the nucleus, and propose some observational tests of this hypothesis.
