Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Apr 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999head....4.1526b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #4, #15.26; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 31, p.716
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
A bright X-ray outburst was detected from XTE J0421+560/CI Cam last year, lasting less than two weeks. Despite the observational effort in the X rays and the brightness of its optical counterpart, the nature of the system is still unclear. We present the results of the analysis of RXTE, BATSE and optical/infrared data of the 1998 outburst of this transient. The X-ray spectrum in the 2-25 keV band is thermal, softening considerably during decay and with strongly variable intrinsic absorption. A strong iron line at around 6.7 keV is observed. No fast time variability is detected (<0.5% rms in the 1-4096 Hz band at the outburst peak). The analysis of the optical/IR data suggests that the secondary is a B[e] star surrounded by cool dust and places the system at a distance of ~ 2 kpc. At this distance the peak 2-25 keV luminosity is ~ 5x 10(37) erg/s. We compare the properties of this peculiar system with those of the Be/NS LMC transient A 0538-66 and suggest that CI Cam is of similar nature. The presence of strong radio emission during outburst indicates that the compact object is likely to be a black hole or a weakly magnetized neutron star.
Belloni Tomaso
Dieters Stefan
No associations
LandOfFree
XTE J0421+560/CI Cam: the first B[e]-X-ray binary? does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with XTE J0421+560/CI Cam: the first B[e]-X-ray binary?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and XTE J0421+560/CI Cam: the first B[e]-X-ray binary? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-889524