Three New Galactic Center X-ray Sources Identified with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

We have conducted a near-infrared spectroscopic survey of 47 candidate counterparts to X-ray sources discovered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory near the Galactic Center (GC). Though a significant number of these astrometric matches are likely to be spurious, we sought out spectral characteristics of active stars and interacting binaries, such as hot, massive spectral types or emission lines in order to corroborate the X-ray activity and certify the authenticity of the match. We present three new spectroscopic identifications, including a Be high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) or a gamma Cassiopeiae (Cas) system, a symbiotic X-ray binary and an O-type star of unknown luminosity class. The Be HMXB/gamma Cas system and the symbiotic X-ray binary are the first of their classes to be spectroscopically identified in the GC region.

33 pages, 12 figures, AJ accepted

References in corpus (12)

• Be/X-ray binaries
• UBVJHK synthetic photometry of Galactic O stars
• A method to remove residual OH emission from near infrared spectra
• A Catalog of X-ray Point Sources from Two Megaseconds of Chandra Observations of the Galactic Center
• Sub-Chandrasekhar White Dwarf Mergers as the Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae
• Interstellar Extinction Law toward the Galactic Center II: V, J, H, and Ks Bands
• Isolated Wolf-Rayet Stars and O Supergiants in the Galactic Center Region Identified via Paschen-alpha Excess
• M-type giants as optical counterparts of X-ray sources 4U 1700+24 and 4U 1954+319
• The Nature of the Hard-X-Ray Emitting Symbiotic Star RT Cru
• Identification of the Infrared Counterpart to a Newly Discovered X-ray Source in the Galactic Center
• Confirmation of IGR J01363+6610 as a Be X-ray binary with very low quiescent X-ray luminosity
• Near-infrared counterparts of Chandra X-ray sources toward the Galactic Center

Cited by in corpus (5)

• 2D kinematics of massive stars near the Galactic Center
• Constraining the population of isolated massive stars within the Central Molecular Zone
• A population of compact radio variables and transients in the radio bright zone at the Galactic center observed with the Jansky Very Large Array
• A Rapidly Varying Red Supergiant X-Ray Binary in the Galactic Center
• Near-infrared spectroscopy of 20 new Chandra sources in the Norma Arm