MeerKAT upper limit on Swift J1713.4-4219 2019 outburst
ATel #13250; Julien N. Girard (CEA-Saclay), Evangelia Tremou (CEA-Saclay), Stephane Corbel (CEA-Saclay), Rob Fender (Oxford & UCT), Patrick Woudt (UCT), James Miller-Jones (Curtin) on behalf of the ThunderKAT collaboration
on 31 Oct 2019; 17:39 UT
Credential Certification: Evangelia Tremou (evangelia.tremou@cea.fr)
Subjects: Radio, Binary, Black Hole, Neutron Star, Transient
As part of the ThunderKAT Large Survey Programme (Fender et al.2017, arXiv:1711.04132), we observed the transient reported in ATEL #13169, #13226 and #13247 of the candidate black hole transient Swift J1713.4-4219 (ATEL #2300). Radio measurements with MeerKAT (60 antennas) were performed on on MJD 58782.57 (2019-10-26 13:52 UTC) 3.53 days after detection and localization by Swift XRT (ATel #13226).
We observed the phase calibrator J1744-5144 for 2 minutes before and after a 15-minute scan on the J1713.4-4219. J1939-6342 was used as the primary flux and bandpass calibrator. Data were taken at a central frequency of 1.28 GHz with a bandwidth of 856 MHz over 4096 channels. Calibration and imaging were performed using standard techniques and Direction-Dependent calibration and imaging (Tasse et al. 2018, A&A 611, A87) to account for the effect of strong sources in the field.
We report a 3-sigma upper limit of 115µJy at the position of Swift J1713.4-4219. Distance to the object is unknown to deduce the associated radio luminosity.
ThunderKAT will run for 5 years and targets X-ray binaries, Cataclysmic Variables, Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts. As part of this programme we perform weekly monitoring observation of all bright, active, southern hemisphere X-ray binaries in the radio band. For further information on this programme please contact Rob Fender and/or Patrick Woudt. We thank the staff at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) for scheduling and carrying out these observations. The MeerKAT telescope is operated by SARAO, which is a facility of the National Research Foundation, and agency of the Department of Science and Technology. We acknowledge the use of the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) data intensive research cloud for data processing. IDIA is a South African university partnership involving the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape. We acknowledge the use of the Nançay Data Center computing facility (CDN - Centre de Données de Nançay). The NDC is hosted by the Station de Radioastronomie de Nançay in partnership with Observatoire de Paris, Université d'Orléans, OSUC and the CNRS. The CDN is supported by the Region Centre Val de Loire, département du Cher.
