Simultaneous Optical and X-ray Detection of a Thermonuclear Burst in the 2024 Outburst of EXO 0748-676

The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary, EXO 0748--676, recently returned to outburst after a \(\sim\) 16 year-long quiescence. Since its return, there has been a global effort to capture the previously unseen rise of the source and to understand its somewhat early return to outburst, as it is typica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-11
Main Authors: Knight, Amy H, Rhodes, Lauren, Buisson, Douglas J K, Matthews, James H, Noel Castro Segura, Ingram, Adam, Middleton, Matthew, Roberts, Timothy P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablative materials
Accretion disks
Binary stars
Companion stars
Decay
Image filters
Neutron stars
Outbursts
Reprocessing
Time
X ray binaries
X ray stars
XMM (spacecraft)
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Summary:The neutron star low-mass X-ray binary, EXO 0748--676, recently returned to outburst after a \(\sim\) 16 year-long quiescence. Since its return, there has been a global effort to capture the previously unseen rise of the source and to understand its somewhat early return to outburst, as it is typical for a source to spend longer in quiescence than in outburst. Here, we report on the simultaneous optical and X-ray detection of a type I X-ray burst, captured by XMM-Newton during a DDT observation on 30th June 2024. The data show 3 X-ray eclipses consistent with the known ephemeris and one type I X-ray burst at 60492.309 MJD. The X-ray burst is reprocessed into the optical band and captured by XMM-Newton's Optical Monitor during a 4399 s exposure with the B filter in image + fast mode. We determine that the optical peak lags the X-ray peak by 4.46 \(\pm\) 1.71s. The optical and X-ray rise times are similar, but the optical decay timescale is shorter than the X-ray decay timescale. The reprocessing site is likely within a few light seconds of the X-ray emitting region, so the companion star, accretion disc and ablated material are all plausible.
ISSN:2331-8422