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Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are high mass X-ray binariesassociated with OB supergiant companions and characterised by an X-ray flaringbehaviour whose dynamical range reaches 5 orders of magnitude on timescales ofa few hundred to thousands of seconds. Current investigations concentrate onfinding possible mechanisms to inhibit accretion in SFXTs and explain theirunusually low average X-ray luminosity. We present the Swift observations of anexceptionally bright outburst displayed by the SFXT IGR J17544-2619 on 2014October 10 when the source achieved a peak luminosity of $3\times10^{38}$ ergs$^{-1}$. This extends the total source dynamic range to $\gtrsim$10$^6$, thelargest (by a factor of 10) recorded so far from an SFXT. Tentative evidencefor pulsations at a period of 11.6 s is also reported. We show that theseobservations challenge, for the first time, the maximum theoretical luminosityachievable by an SFXT and propose that this giant outburst was due to theformation of a transient accretion disc around the compact object.

Giant outburst from the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J17544-2619: accretion from a transient disc?