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Published March 10, 2011 | Published
Journal Article Open

The X-ray Quiescence of Swift J195509.6+261406 (GRB 070610): An Optical Bursting X-ray Binary?

Abstract

We report on an ~63 ks Chandra observation of the X-ray transient Swift J195509.6+261406 discovered as the afterglow of what was first believed to be a long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB 070610). The outburst of this source was characterized by unique optical flares on timescales of second or less, morphologically similar to the short X-ray bursts usually observed from magnetars. Our Chandra observation was performed ~2 years after the discovery of the optical and X-ray flaring activity of this source, catching it in its quiescent state. We derive stringent upper limits on the quiescent emission of Swift J195509.6+261406, which argues against the possibility of this object being a typical magnetar. Our limits show that the most viable interpretation on the nature of this peculiar bursting source is a binary system hosting a black hole or a neutron star with a low-mass companion star (<0.12 M_☉) and with an orbital period smaller than a few hours.

Additional Information

© 2011 American Astronomical Society. Received 2010 November 11; accepted 2011 January 18; published 2011 February 15. N.R. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship through Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientfícas, by grants AYA2009-07391 and SGR2009-811, and thanks to P. Casella for useful discussions on the optical variability in black hole binaries. P.G.J. and G.N. acknowledge support from a VIDI grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

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