Infrared LC and spectrum of Scutum X-1 system

The symbiotic X-ray binary Sct X-1 was suggested to be the first known neutron star accreting from a red supergiant companion. Although known for nearly 50yr, detailed characterization of the donor remains lacking, particularly due to the extremely high reddening toward the source (A_V_>~25mag). Here, we present (i) improved localization of the counterpart using Gaia and Chandra observations, (ii) the first broadband infrared spectrum (~1-5{mu}m; R~2000) obtained with SpeX on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and (iii) the J-band light curve from the Palomar Gattini-IR survey. The infrared spectrum is characterized by (i) deep water absorption features (H_2_O index ~40%), (ii) strong TiO, VO, and CO features, and (iii) weak/absent CN lines. We show that these features are inconsistent with known red supergiants but suggest an M8-9 III-type O-rich Mira donor star. We report the discovery of large-amplitude ({Delta}J~3.5mag) periodic photometric variability, suggesting a pulsation period of 621+/-36 (systematic) +/-8 (statistical) days, which we use to constrain the donor to be a relatively luminous Mira (M_K_=-8.6+/-0.3mag) at a distance of 3.6_-0.7_^+0.8^kpc. Comparing these characteristics to recent models, we find the donor to be consistent with a ~3-5M_{sun}_ star at an age of ~0.1-0.3Gyr. Together, we show that Sct X-1 was previously misclassified as an evolved high-mass X-ray binary; instead, it is an intermediate-mass system with the first confirmed Mira donor in an X-ray binary. We discuss the implications of Mira donors in symbiotic X-ray binaries and highlight the potential of wide-field infrared time-domain surveys and broadband infrared spectroscopy to unveil their demographics.

Identifier
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/928/L8
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/928/L8
Related Identifier http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/928/L8
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/928/L8
Provenance
Creator De K.; Chakrabarty D.; Soria R.; Ashley M.C.B.; Conroy C.; Hankins M.J.,Kasliwal M.M.; Lau R.M.; Moore A.M.; Simcoe R.; Soon J.; Travouillon T.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2024
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysics and Astronomy; Interdisciplinary Astronomy; Natural Sciences; Observational Astronomy; Physics; Stellar Astronomy