Open AccessA study of the new X‐ray transient RXTE J2123−058 during its post‐outburst state
Author(s) -
Soria Roberto,
Wu Kinwah,
K. Galloway Duncan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02861.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , neutron star , brightness , orbital period , accretion (finance) , x ray binary , x ray transient , light curve , binary number , astronomy , accretion disc , low mass , stars , arithmetic , mathematics
We carried out I , R , V and B photometric observations of the neutron star X‐ray binary RXTE J2123−058 shortly after the end of the X‐ray outburst in mid‐1998. We adopt the low‐mass binary model to interpret our observations. After folding our data on the 0.24 821‐d orbital period, and correcting for the steady brightness decline following the outburst, we observed sinusoidal oscillations with hints of ellipsoidal modulations which became progressively more evident. Our data also show that the decline in brightness was faster in the V band than in the R and I bands. This suggests both the cooling of an irradiation‐heated secondary star and the fading of an accretion disc over the nights of our observations.