THE IDENTIFICATION OF MAXI J1659-152 AS A BLACK HOLE CANDIDATE
- Astronomical Institute, 'Anton Pannekoek', University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)
We report on the analysis of all 65 pointed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations of the recently discovered soft X-ray transient MAXI J1659-152 (initially referred to as GRB 100925A). The source was studied in terms of its evolution through the hardness-intensity diagram (HID), as well as its X-ray variability properties. MAXI J1659-152 traced out a counterclockwise loop in the HID, which is commonly seen in transient low-mass X-ray binaries. The variability properties of the source, in particular the detection of type-B and type-C low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations, and the way they evolve along the HID track, indicate that MAXI J1659-152 is a black hole candidate. The spectral and variability properties of MAXI J1659-152 imply that the source was observed in the hard and soft intermediate states during the RXTE observations, with several transitions between these two states.
- OSTI ID:
- 21562757
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 731, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/731/1/L2; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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