Re-brightening of XTE J1719-291
ATel #1467; Nathalie Degenaar, Diego Altamirano, and Rudy Wijnands (University of Amsterdam)
on 10 Apr 2008; 19:20 UT
Credential Certification: Rudy Wijnands (rudy@space.mit.edu)
Subjects: Binary, Black Hole, Neutron Star, Transient
After our first Swift/XRT observation (ATEL #1451) of the new, very
faint X-ray transient XTE J1719-291 (ATEL #1442), we acquired two
additional observations to monitor the flux evolution of this
source. The first additional observation was performed on April 3,
2008, and lasted ~2.6 ksec. The source was detected at a count rate
which was slightly less than the previous observation (0.045 counts/s
versus 0.051 counts/s). The source spectrum could be fitted with an
absorbed power-law model using a column density of 6.7E21 cm-2, a
photon index of ~2.8 and a 2-10 keV observed flux of ~1.1e-12
erg/cm2/s. The unabsorbed 2-10 keV flux was ~1.3e-12 erg/cm2/s. The
values we obtained are consistent with the previous Swift/XRT
observation (ATEL #1451).
The second additional observation was obtained on April 9, 2008 and
had an exposure time of ~2 ksec. Again the source was clearly detected
and when fitting its spectrum with an absorbed power-law model, we
obtained a column density of 6+/-1 E21 cm-2, a photon index of
2.5+/-0.2 and a 2-10 keV absorbed flux of ~1.4E-11 erg/cm2/s
(unabsorbed 2-10 keV flux was ~1.5e-11 erg/cm2/s). Clearly, the source
has become an order of magnitude brighter since the previous Swift/XRT
observation and possibly also a bit harder. This brightening of the
source strongly suggests that this Swift source is indeed the
counterpart of XTE J1719-291. Observations at all wavelengths are
encouraged to study this enigmatic transient.
We thank the Swift team for scheduling these observations.
