| Proposal ID | 040139 |
| Title | New ultracompact binaries, new opportunities: the case for 1A 1246-588 |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0401390101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-1nyx73k |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Dr Jean in t Zand |
| Abstract | 1A 1246-588 is a persistently accreting low-mass X-ray binary at a distance of 5kpc and with an absorption of NH=4E21 cm-2. The persistent luminosity is ~0.5%of the Eddington limit. This puts the source in an interesting accretion regime,possibly due to an ultracompact binary orbit. We propose to observe 1A1246-588with XMM-Newton and VLT/FORS2 to secure the suspected opticalcounterpart and ultracompact nature, carry out high-resolution spectroscopy ofsuspected anomalous abundances of Ne, Fe and O with RGS and H, He, C and O withVLT/FORS2, and to search for an orbital period in the X-ray lightcurve toinvestigate the evolutionary history of the binary. |
| Publications |
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| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2006-08-31T21:01:54Z/2006-09-01T08:31:36Z |
| Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
| Mission Description | The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2007-09-30T00:00:00Z |
| Last Update | 2025-01-27 |
| Keywords | "resolution spectroscopy", "ultracompact binary orbit", "accretion regime", "persistent luminosity", "orbital period", "XMM-Newton", "xray lightcurve", "suspected anomalous abundance", "eddington limit", "ultracompact binary", "XMM", "1a 1246 588", "evolutionary history", "4e21 cm", "suspected optical counterpart" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Dr Jean in 't Zand, 2007, 'New ultracompact binaries, new opportunities: the case for 1A 1246-588', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-1nyx73k |