2008/10/12 by D. I. Karasev, A. Lutovinov, A. A. Lutovinov +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1134/s1063773708110042
published as Astron. Lett., 34 (2008) 753-760; Pisma v Astron.Zh., 34 (2008), 834 - 841 · 12 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2008/10/12 · openalex publication_date 2008/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We continue to study the fast X-ray transient XTE J1901+014 discovered in 2002 by the RXTE observatory, whose nature has not yet been established. Based on the XMM-Newton observations of the source in 2006, we have obtained its energy spectrum, light curves, and power spectrum in the energy range 0.5–10 keV, which are in good agreement with our results obtained previously from the data of other observatories. In turn, this suggests that the source’s emission is stable in the quiescent state. The XMM-Newton observations also allowed the source’s localization accuracy to be improved to ≤2″, which subsequently enabled us to search for its optical companion with the RTT-150 and 6-m BTA (Special Astrophysical Observatory) telescopes. Combining optical, X-ray, and infrared observations, we have concluded that the optical companion in the system under study can be either a later-type star at a distance of several kpc or a very distant red giant or an A or F star. Thus, XTE J1901+014 may be the first low-mass fast X-ray transient.