Abstract
We report the detection of optical bursts during a low-amplitude, flat-topped eruption of the soft X-ray transient Aql X-1. The bursts had amplitudes between 0.17 and 0.35 mag and were variable in duration, some lasting longer than 78 s. On one night they recurred quasi-periodically at a mean interval of 1.01 hr. Regularly repeating optical bursts of this kind have not heretofore been observed from any X-ray binary. The accreting star in Aql X-1 is known to be a neutron star. We propose that the optical bursts are reprocessed type I X-ray bursts; that is, that they are thermonuclear flashes in the envelope of the neutron star.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | L89-L91 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 491 |
| Issue number | 2 PART II |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Binaries: close
- Stars: individual (Aquila X-1)
- Stars: neutron
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science