Swift Detection of 11.82 s Pulsations from IGR J18179-1621
ATel #3949; J. P. Halpern (Columbia U.)
on 2 Mar 2012; 01:49 UT
Credential Certification: Jules Halpern (jules@astro.columbia.edu)
Subjects: X-ray, Binary, Neutron Star, Transient, Pulsar
Examining Swift XRT observations of the location of the new hard
X-ray transient IGR J18179-1621 (Tuerler et al., ATel #3947)
taken on 2012 February 29 - March 1 UT (MJD 55986.84-55987.67) for a
total exposure time of 3800 s, I find a source at
R.A. = 18h17m51.9s, decl. = -16d21'31" (J2000.0)
with 0.80 counts/s in the 2-10 keV range, and cut off below 2 keV.
Fourier analysis shows a strong signal
at P=11.82(1) s, with a single-peaked pulse and a pulsed
fraction of 27%. This is likely the signature of a
HMXB pulsar, as was suggested to be the classification of IGR J18179-1621 in ATel #3947.
