XMMU J134736.6+173403: an eclipsing LMXB in quiescence or a peculiar AGN?

Carpano, S.; Altieri, B.; King, A. R.; Nucita, A.; Leisy, P.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 480, Issue 3, 2008, pp.807-810

Advertised on:
3
2008
Number of authors
5
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
2
Refereed citations
2
Description
Aims:We report the discovery of a peculiar object observed serendipitously with XMM-Newton. We present its timing and spectral properties and investigate its optical counterpart. Methods: The light curve of the X-ray source, its spectrum, and the spectrum of the best optical counterpart are presented and analyzed. Results: The X-ray flux decreases by a factor of 6.5 within 1 h and stays in a low state for at least 10 h, thereby suggesting the presence of an eclipse. The spectrum is very soft, a power law with a slope of Γ˜2.8, and does not change significantly before and after the flux drop. The source is spatially coincident within few arc-seconds with a Seyfert 2 galaxy belonging to a galaxy pair. Conclusions: Although the background AGN seems the best counterpart, neither the temporal nor the spectral properties of the X-ray source are compatible with it. We investigate the possibility of having a foreground low-mass X-ray binary in quiescence, where the companion is not detected in the optical wavelength.
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