Computer Science
Scientific paper
Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7399v&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #7399
Computer Science
Hst Proposal Id #7399 Binary Stars
Scientific paper
Observationally, supersoft X-ray sources are classified as near-Eddington stellar objects with almost all emission at energies < 0.5 keV. Only 13 supersoft X-ray sources have been optically identified, and of these 11 turn out to be binaries, probably with a shell-burning accreting white dwarf. We have recently identified RX J0439.8-6809 with a V=21.63, very blue star in the LMC. A 3sigma upper limit to the peak-to-peak optical variability is 0.07 mag. Of all optically identified supersoft X-ray sources, RX J0439.8-6809 has the lowest optical-to-X-ray flux ratio. The nature of RX J0439.8-6809 is still unknown. It might be the hottest known pre-white dwarf, suffering a late helium shell flash. Alternatively, RX J0439.8-6809 could be an accreting binary, in which case it might be the first known double-degenerate supersoft X-ray source with a predicted orbital period of only a few minutes. An ultraviolet spectrum is essential to distinguish between these two spectacular possibilities, and to bridge the gap between the X-ray and optical observations. Such a spectrum can only be obtained with the HST STIS. Therefore, we propose to obtain two ultraviolet spectra, which will test the assumption that the optical spectrum is the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the soft X-ray component, which will determine the spectral energy distribution, and which may provide the first direct evidence for accretion in this source by detecting an excess in the ultraviolet or ultraviolet emission lines like N V Lambda 1240.
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