RXTE observation XTE J1701-462: no indications for renewed activity
ATel #3029; J. Homan (MIT), D. Altamirano (Amsterdam), J. K. Fridriksson (MIT), M. Linares (MIT)
on 13 Nov 2010; 17:46 UT
Credential Certification: Jeroen Homan (jeroen@space.mit.edu)
Subjects: X-ray, Binary, Neutron Star, Transient
Prompted by the recent report of increased Swift/BAT activity from the neutron star X-ray transient XTE J1701-462 (ATel #3028), the source was observed for ~1.4 ks with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer on 2010 November 13 11:16 UTC. The average count rate from the PCA was 2.0+/-0.2 cts/s/PCU, consistent with the count rate from the Galactic ridge emission measured after the 2006-2007 outburst had ended (Fridriksson et al. 2010, ApJ, 714, 270). Also taking into account the low significance of the Swift/BAT detections (ATel #3028), we therefore conclude that XTE J1701-462 is currently not showing renewed activity, at least not at the level of the 2006-2007 outburst.
We thank the XTE team for quickly scheduling the observations of XTE J1701-462.
