Optical studies of the X-ray transient XTE J2123-058 -I. Photometry

Abstract

We present optical photometry of the X-ray transient XTE J2123-058, obtained in July-October 1998. The light curves are strongly modulated on the 5.95hrs orbital period, and exhibit dramatic changes in amplitude and form during the decline. We used synthetic models which include the effect of partial eclipses and X-ray heating effects, to estimate the system parameters, and we constrain the binary inclination to be i=73+-4 degrees. The model is successful in reproducing the light curves at different stages of the decay by requiring the accretion disc to become smaller and thinner by 30% as the system fades by 1.7 mags in the optical. From Aug 26 the system reaches quiescence with a mean magnitude of R=21.7+-0.1 and our data are consistent with the optical variability being dominated by the companion's ellipsoidal modulation.

6 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (3)

• The Properties of X-Ray and Optical Light Curves of X-Ray Novae
• On the outburst amplitude of the soft X-ray transients
• XTE J2123-058: A New Neutron Star X-Ray Transient

Cited by in corpus (18)

• Do X-ray Binary Spectral State Transition Luminosities Vary?
• Detecting gravitational wave emission from the known accreting neutron stars
• The bright optical companion to the eclipsing millisecond pulsar in NGC 6397
• Discovery of a Cosmological, Relativistic Outburst via its Rapidly Fading Optical Emission
• Swift J1753.5-0127: The Black Hole Candidate with the shortest orbital period
• A FWHM-K2 correlation in Black-Hole transients
• The Low Quiescent X-Ray Luminosity of the Neutron Star Transient XTE J2123-058
• Observations of the 599 Hz Accreting X-ray Pulsar IGR J00291+5934 during the 2004 Outburst and in Quiescence
• VLT spectroscopy of XTE J2123-058 during quiescence
• Optical studies of the X-ray transient XTE J2123-058 - II. Phase-resolved spectroscopy
• The optical light curves of XTE J2123--058: the mass of the binary components and the structure of the quiescent accretion disk
• The optical counterpart of the bright X-ray transient Swift J1745-26
• A variable near-infrared counterpart to the neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1705-440
• The Optical Orbital Light Curve of the Low-mass X-ray Binary V1408 Aquilae (= 4U 1957+115)
• Rotational Broadening Measurement for the Neutron Star X-Ray Transient XTE J2123-058
• A Deep Pulse Search in Eleven Low Mass X-Ray Binaries
• Keck Measurement of the XTE J2123-058 Radial Velocity Curve
• Fundamental Parameters of Low Mass X-ray Binaries II: X-Ray Persistent Systems