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MAXI J1305-704 may be an Eclipsing Source

ATel #4071; J. Kennea (Swift/PSU), J. M. Miller (Michigan), A. Beardmore (Leicester), N. Degenaar (Michigan), M. T. Reynolds (Michigan)
on 26 Apr 2012; 19:56 UT
Credential Certification: Jon Miller (jonmm@umich.edu)

Subjects: X-ray, Binary, Black Hole, Neutron Star, Transient

Referred to by ATel #: 4073

We report on a short Swift/XRT observation of the new X-ray transient MAXI J1305-704, obtained on 2012 April 25 starting at 20:24:10 UT and lasting just over 0.9 ksec. The source is already known to be a dipping source, likely seen at fairly high inclination (ATEL #4044, #4070).

A simple inspection of the full XRT bandpass light curve from this observation reveals a strong flux dip near to the end of the observation, lasting approximately 100 seconds. The flux is just above a count rate of zero during this interval, and the ingress and egress are rapid. The character of this event is more consistent with an eclipse than with a simple dip.

The eclipse event is similar to the events seen in the eclipsing millisecond X-ray pulsar Swift J1749.4-2807 (Markwardt & Strohmayer 2010).

Additional observations may be able to confirm that MAXI J1305-704 is indeed an eclipsing source.
For a picture of the light curve, please click here.

References:

Markwardt, C. B., & Strohmayer, T. E., 2010, ApJ, 717, L149