An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226
Using the Zwicky Transient Facility, in 2021 February we identified the first known outburst of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 since its discovery in 1999. The outburst was visible at X-ray, UV, and optical wavelengths for less than 20 days, substantially shorter than its full outburst...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acf37c |
| _version_ | 1797666536086831104 |
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| author | Eric C. Bellm Yuankun Wang Jan van Roestel Rebecca A. Phillipson Michael W. Coughlin John A. Tomsick Steven L. Groom Brian Healy Josiah Purdum Ben Rusholme Jesper Sollerman Peter Bealo Stefano Lora Eddy Muyllaert Ivo Peretto Erik J. Schwendeman |
| author_facet | Eric C. Bellm Yuankun Wang Jan van Roestel Rebecca A. Phillipson Michael W. Coughlin John A. Tomsick Steven L. Groom Brian Healy Josiah Purdum Ben Rusholme Jesper Sollerman Peter Bealo Stefano Lora Eddy Muyllaert Ivo Peretto Erik J. Schwendeman |
| author_sort | Eric C. Bellm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Using the Zwicky Transient Facility, in 2021 February we identified the first known outburst of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 since its discovery in 1999. The outburst was visible at X-ray, UV, and optical wavelengths for less than 20 days, substantially shorter than its full outburst of 320 days in 1999, and the observed peak luminosity was 2 orders of magnitude lower. Its peak bolometric luminosity was only 2 × 10 ^35 erg s ^−1 , implying an Eddington fraction of about 3 × 10 ^−4 . The source remained in the hard spectral state throughout the outburst. From optical spectroscopy measurements we estimate an outer disk radius of 10 ^11 cm. The low observed X-ray luminosity is not sufficient to irradiate the entire disk, but we observe a surprising exponential decline in the X-ray light curve. These observations highlight the potential of optical and infrared synoptic surveys to discover low-luminosity activity from X-ray transients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T20:00:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bf33a58ee0824249a2b8147a5093762e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T20:00:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-bf33a58ee0824249a2b8147a5093762e2023-10-04T08:44:53ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0195612110.3847/1538-4357/acf37cAn Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226Eric C. Bellm0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8018-5348Yuankun Wang1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5538-0395Jan van Roestel2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2626-2872Rebecca A. Phillipson3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6891-7091Michael W. Coughlin4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8262-2924John A. Tomsick5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5506-9855Steven L. Groom6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-3507Brian Healy7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7718-7884Josiah Purdum8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1227-3738Ben Rusholme9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7648-4142Jesper Sollerman10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1546-6615Peter Bealo11Stefano Lora12Eddy Muyllaert13Ivo Peretto14Erik J. Schwendeman15DIRAC Institute, Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , 3910 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA ; ecbellm@uw.eduDIRAC Institute, Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , 3910 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA ; ecbellm@uw.eduAnton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , 1090 GE Amsterdam, The NetherlandsVillanova University , Department of Physics, Villanova, PA 19085, USASchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, MN 55455, USASpace Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720-7450, USAIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USASchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota , 116 Church Sreet SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USACaltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Astronomy, The Oskar Klein Center, Stockholm University , AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers , 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers , 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Marana Space Explorer Center , Pasquali Road, Marana Di Crespadoro, Vicenza, I-36070, ItalyAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers , 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers , 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Marana Space Explorer Center , Pasquali Road, Marana Di Crespadoro, Vicenza, I-36070, ItalyAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers , 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite 410, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAUsing the Zwicky Transient Facility, in 2021 February we identified the first known outburst of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 since its discovery in 1999. The outburst was visible at X-ray, UV, and optical wavelengths for less than 20 days, substantially shorter than its full outburst of 320 days in 1999, and the observed peak luminosity was 2 orders of magnitude lower. Its peak bolometric luminosity was only 2 × 10 ^35 erg s ^−1 , implying an Eddington fraction of about 3 × 10 ^−4 . The source remained in the hard spectral state throughout the outburst. From optical spectroscopy measurements we estimate an outer disk radius of 10 ^11 cm. The low observed X-ray luminosity is not sufficient to irradiate the entire disk, but we observe a surprising exponential decline in the X-ray light curve. These observations highlight the potential of optical and infrared synoptic surveys to discover low-luminosity activity from X-ray transients.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acf37cLow-mass x-ray binary starsX-ray binary stars |
| spellingShingle | Eric C. Bellm Yuankun Wang Jan van Roestel Rebecca A. Phillipson Michael W. Coughlin John A. Tomsick Steven L. Groom Brian Healy Josiah Purdum Ben Rusholme Jesper Sollerman Peter Bealo Stefano Lora Eddy Muyllaert Ivo Peretto Erik J. Schwendeman An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 The Astrophysical Journal Low-mass x-ray binary stars X-ray binary stars |
| title | An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 |
| title_full | An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 |
| title_fullStr | An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 |
| title_short | An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226 |
| title_sort | optically discovered outburst from xte j1859 226 |
| topic | Low-mass x-ray binary stars X-ray binary stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acf37c |
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