IGR J17091-3624 and IGR J17098-3628 are two X-ray transients discovered by INTEGRAL and classified as possible black hole candidates (BHCs). We present here the results obtained from the analysis of multi-wavelength data sets collected by different instruments from 2005 until the end of 2007 on both sources. IGR J17098-3628 has been regularly detected by INTEGRAL and RXTE over the entire period of the observational campaign; it was also observed with pointed observations by XMM and Swift/XRT in 2005 and 2006 and exhibited flux variations not linked with the change of any particular spectral features. IGR J17091-3624 was initially in quiescence (after a period of activity between 2003 April and 2004 April) and it was then detected again in outburst in the XRT field of view during a Swift observation of IGR J17098--3628 on 2007 July 9. The observations during quiescence provide an upper limit to the 0.2-10 keV luminosity, while the observations in outburst cover the transition from the hard to the soft state. Moreover, we obtain a refined X-ray position for IGR J17091-3624 from the Swift/XRT observations during the outburst in 2007. The new position is inconsistent with the previously proposed radio counterpart. We identify in VLA archive data a compact radio source consistent with the new X-ray position and propose it as the radio counterpart of the X-ray transient.
We present results of analysis of observations of two transient sources IGR J17091-3624 and IGR J18539+0727 in April 2003 with RXTE observatory. Obtained energy spectra of sources, and also power spectra of their flux variations give us a possibility to classify them as X-ray binary systems in low/hard spectral state. Parameters of power spectrum of IGR J18539+0727 indicates that this source is a black hole candidate.
IGR J19140+098 (SIMBAD corrected name IGR J19140+0951) is a new X-ray transient, discovered by INTEGRAL during an observation of GRS 1915+015. The source presents strong variations on timescales from seconds to days. We present results of multiwavelength observations, including spectral analysis of INTEGRAL observations, and propose that IGR J19140+098 is a Galactic X-ray binary. Further classification of the source is also discussed.
IGR J18483-0311 is a high-mass X-ray binary recently discovered by INTEGRAL. Its periodic fast X-ray transient activity and its position in the Corbet diagram - although ambiguous - led to the conclusion that the source was a likely Be/X-ray binary (BeXB), even if a supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) nature could not be excluded. We aimed at identifying the companion star of IGR J18483-0311 to discriminate between the BeXB and the SFXT nature of the source. Optical and near-infrared photometry, as well as near-infrared spectroscopy of the companion star were performed to identify its spect…
One of the most recent discoveries of the INTEGRAL observatory is the existence of a previously unknown population of X-ray sources in the inner arms of the Galaxy. IGR J17544-2619, IGR J16465-4507 and XTE J1739-302 are among these sources. Although the nature of these systems is still unexplained, the investigations of the optical/NIR counterparts of the two last sources, combined with high energy data, have provided evidence of them being highly absorbed high mass X-ray binaries with blue supergiant secondaries and displaying fast X-ray transient behaviour. In this work we present our optica…
We report the discovery of a high-energy transient with the IBIS/ISGRI detector on board the INTEGRAL observatory. The source, namely IGR J00291+5934, was first detected on 2nd December 2004 in the routine monitoring of the IBIS/ISGRI 20--60 keV images. The observations were conducted during Galactic Plane Scans, which are a key part of the INTEGRAL Core Programme observations. After verifying the basic source behaviour, the discovery was announced on 3rd December. The transient shows a hard Comptonised spectrum, with peak energy release at about 20 keV and a total luminosity of ~ 0.9E36 erg/s…
IGR J19140+098 was discovered during the early INTEGRAL observations of GRS1915+105 in March 2003. The following observations by INTEGRAL and RXTE show significant variability on various time scales from 100s to 1ks, but no pulsations. The ISGRI spectra show strong spectral variability in the 20-80keV range. Combined JEMX_2-ISGRI spectra are well fitted by a power-law and a thermal emission model with a rather high temperature. RXTE data also reveal an apparently broad ionised iron line not detected in earlier INTEGRAL observations. These results are compatible with a galactic X-ray binary sou…
The hard X-ray source IGRJ11215-5952 has been discovered with INTEGRAL during a short outburst in 2005 and proposed as a new member of the class of supergiant fast X-ray transients. We analysed INTEGRAL public observations of the source field in order to search for previous outbursts from this transient, not reported in literature.Our results are based on a systematic re-analysis of INTEGRAL archival observations, using the latest analysis software and instrument calibrations. We report the discovery of two previously unnoticed outbursts, spaced by intervals of ~330 days, that occurred in July…
The new transient IGR 16358-4726 was discovered on 2003 March 19 with INTEGRAL. We detected the source serendipitously during our 2003 March 24 observation of SGR 1627-41 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory at the 1.7 x 10^{-10} ergs s^{-1} cm^{-2} flux level (2-10 keV) with a very high absorption column (N_H=3.3(1) x 10^{23} cm^{-2}) and a hard power law spectrum of index 0.5(1). We discovered a very strong flux modulation with a period of 5880(50) s and peak-to-peak pulse fraction of 70(6)% (2-10 keV), clearly visible in the x-ray data. The nature of IGR 16358-4726 remains unresolved. The onl…
IGR J16318-4848 is the prototype and one of the more extreme examples of the new class of highly obscured Galactic X-ray sources discovered by INTEGRAL. A monitoring campaign on this source has been carried out by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL, consisting in three simultaneous observations performed in February, March and August 2004. The long-term variability of the Compton-thick absorption and emission line complexes will be used to probe the properties of the circumstellar matter. A detailed timing and spectral analysis of the three observations is performed, along with the reanalysis of the XMM-…
Supergiant fast X-ray transients are a new class of high mass X-ray binaries recently discovered with INTEGRAL. Hours long outbursts from these sources have been observed on numerous occasions at luminosities of ~1E36-1E37 erg/s, whereas their low level activity at ~1E32-1E34 erg/s has not been deeply investigated yet due to the paucity of long pointed observations with high sensitivity X-ray telescopes. Here we report on the first long (~32 ks) pointed XMM-Newton observation of IGR J16479-4514, a member of this new class. This observation was carried out in March 2008, shortly after an outbur…
INTEGRAL monitoring of the Galactic Plane in the last 5 years revealed a new subclass of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). They display flares lasting from minutes to hours, with peak luminosity of 1E36-1E37 erg/s and a frequent long term flaring activity reaching an X-ray luminosity of 1E33-1E34 erg/s, as recently detected by the Swift satellite. The quiescent level is around 1E32 erg/s. We performed a systematic re-analysis of archival INTEGRAL data of four SFXTs: IGRJ16479-4514, XTEJ1739-302, IGRJ17544-2619, IGRJ18410-0535. This led to the disco…
IGR J17544-2619 and XTE J1739-302 are considered the prototypical sources of the new class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs).These sources were observed during bright outbursts on 2008 March 31 and 2008 April 8, respectively, thanks to an on-going monitoring campaign we are performing with Swift, started in October 2007. Simultaneous observations with XRT and BAT allowed us to perform for the first time a broad band spectroscopy of their outbursts. The X-ray emission is well reproduced with absorbed cutoff powerlaws, similar to the typical spectral shape…
We present the transient nature of INTEGRAL source IGR J17285-2922, identified from a single period of activity during an IBIS/ISGRI Galactic Centre Deep Exposure in September 2003. The source has a maximum detection significance of 14 sigma in the 20-100 keV energy range and exhibits a flux of 6.5 mCrab before it moves out of the ISGRI field of view. The source is visible to at least 150 keV and its spectrum can be fit with a power law slope of Gamma=2.1+/-0.17; a more physical model could not be fit due to poor statistics. Detected characteristics are consistent with the source being a Galac…
The supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J08408-4503 was discovered by INTEGRAL on May 15, 2006, during a bright flare. The source shows sporadic recurrent short bright flares, reaching a peak luminosity of 10^36 erg s^-1 within less than one hour. The companion star is HD 74194, an Ob5Ib(f) supergiant star located at 3 kpc in the Vela region. We report the light curves and broad-band spectra (0.1-200 keV) of all the three flares of IGR J08408-4503 detected up to now based on INTEGRAL and Swift data. The flare spectra are well described by a power-law model with a high energy cut-off at ~15 keV…
We report the results of a series of RXTE and ATCA observations of the recently-discovered X-ray transient IGR J17497-2821. Our 3-200 keV PCA+HEXTE spectral analysis shows very little variations over a period of ~10 days around the maximum of the outburst. IGR J17497-2821 is found in a typical Low Hard State (LHS) of X-ray binaries (XRB), well represented by an absorbed Comptonized spectrum with an iron edge at about 7 keV. The high value of the absorption (~4 e22 cm-2) suggests that the source is located at a large distance, either close to the Galactic center or beyond. The timing analysis s…
IGR J16479-4514 is a Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT), a new class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, whose number is rapidly growing thanks to the observations of the Galactic plane performed with the INTEGRAL satellite. IGR J16479-4514 has been regularly monitored with Swift/XRT since November 2007, to study the quiescent emission, the outburst properties and their recurrence. A new bright outburst, reaching fluxes above 10$^{-9}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, was caught by the Swift/BAT. Swift immediately re-pointed at the target with the narrow-field instruments so that, for the first time, an o…
IGR J17544-2619 belongs to a distinct group of at least seven fast X-ray transients that cannot readily be associated with nearby flare stars or pre-main sequence stars and most probably are X-ray binaries with wind accretion. Sofar, the nature of the accretor has been determined in only one case (SAX J1819.3-2525/V4641 Sgr). We carried out a 20 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of IGR J17544-2619 which shows the source in quiescence going into outburst. The Chandra position confirms the previous tentative identification of the optical counterpart, a blue O9Ib supergiant at 3 to 4 kpc (Pellizza, C…
The hard X-ray source IGRJ11215-5952, discovered with INTEGRAL during a brief outburst in 2005, has been proposed as a new member of the class of Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients. Analysing archival INTEGRAL observations of the source field,we have discovered two previously unnoticed outbursts (in July 2003 and in May 2004),spaced by intervals of ~330 days, suggesting a possible orbital period.The 5-100keV spectrum is well described by a cut-off power law, with a photon index of 0.5, and a cut-off energy 15-20keV, typical of High Mass X-ray Binaries containing a neutron star. The luminosity is…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) are a sub-class of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) associated with OB supergiant companions and displaying transient X-ray activity. This behaviour is quite surprising since HMXBs hosting supergiants were known to be persistent sources, until the INTEGRAL discoveries obtained by means of the monitoring of the Galactic plane. We have been performing a monitoring campaign with Swift of four SFXTs with the main aim of characterizing both the long-term behaviour of these transients and the properties during bright outbursts. Here we discuss the properties …
Supergiant high mass X-ray binaries (SGXBs) are believed to be rare objects, as stars in the supergiant phase have a very short lifetime and to date only about a dozen of them have been discovered. They are known to be persistent and bright X-ray sources. INTEGRAL is changing this classical picture as its observations are revealing the presence of a new subclass of SGXBs which have been labelled as supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) as they are strongly characterized by fast X-ray outbursts lasting less than a day, typically a few hours. We report on IBIS detections of newly discovered f…
Of the 21 new sources that INTEGRAL discovered up to Feb. 1, 2004, five were detected with the BeppoSAX Wide Field Cameras at earlier times. IGR J16320-4751 appears to be a persistently active X-ray source which hints at a supergiant Roche-lobe overflowing companion star in this proposed high-mass X-ray binary. IGR J17091-3624 is a transient source that was detected in 1996 and 2001 with a maximum flux of 20 mCrab (2-28 keV). It is either a Be X-ray binary or a low mass X-ray binary transient. IGR J18483-0311 may be a high-mass X-ray binary, because it is located in a region rich of such objec…
IGR J11215-5952 is a hard X-ray transient source discovered in April 2005 with INTEGRAL and a confirmed member of the new class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs). Archival INTEGRAL data and RXTE observations showed that the outbursts occur with a periodicity of ~330 days. Thus, IGR J11215-5952 is the first SFXT displaying periodic outbursts, possibly related to the orbital period. We performed a Target of Opportunity observation with Swift with the main aim of monitoring the source behaviour around the time of the fifth outburst, expected on 2007 Feb 9. …
Context: The transient hard X-ray source IGR J11321-5311 was discovered by INTEGRAL on June 2005, during observations of the Crux spiral arm. To date, this is the only detection of the source to be reported by any X/gamma-ray mission. Aims: To characterize the behaviour and hence the nature of the source through temporal and spectral IBIS analysis. Methods: Detailed spectral and temporal analysis has been performed using standard INTEGRAL software OSA v.5.1. Results: To date, IGR J11321-5311 has been detected only once. It was active for about 3.5 hours, a short and bright flare lasting about …
We have investigated multiband optical photometric variability and stability of the H$α$ line profile of the transient X-ray binary IGR J01583+6713. We set an upper limit of 0.05 mag on photometric variations in the {\it V} band over a time scale of 3 months. The H$α$ line is found to consist of non-Gaussian profile and quite stable for a duration of 2 months. We have identified the spectral type of the companion star to be B2 IVe while distance to the source is estimated to be $\sim$ 4.0 kpc. Along with the optical observations, we have also carried out analysis of X-ray data from three short…
IGR J08408-4503 is a supergiant fast X-ray transient discovered in 2006 with a confirmed association with a O8.5Ib(f) supergiant star, HD 74194. We report on the analysis of two outbursts caught by Swift/BAT on 2006 October 4 and 2008 July 5, and followed up at softer energies with Swift/XRT. The 2008 XRT light curve shows a multiple-peaked structure with an initial bright flare that reached a flux of ~1E-9 erg/cm2/s (2-10 keV), followed by two equally bright flares within 75 ks. The spectral characteristics of the flares differ dramatically, with most of the difference, as derived via time-re…
(ABRIDGED)- The physical mechanism responsible for the short outbursts in a recently recognized class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs), is still unknown. Two main hypotheses have been proposed to date: the sudden accretion by the compact object of small ejections originating in a clumpy wind from the supergiant donor, or outbursts produced at (or near) the periastron passage in wide and eccentric orbits, in order to explain the low (1E32 erg/s) quiescent emission.Neither proposed mechanisms seem to explain the whole phenomenology of these sources. Here …
We present detailed spectral and timing analysis of the hard x-ray transient IGR J16358-4726 using multi-satellite archival observations. A study of the source flux time history over 6 years, suggests that lower luminosity transient outbursts can be occuring in intervals of at most 1 year. Joint spectral fits of the higher luminosity outburst using simultaneous Chandra/ACIS and INTEGRAL/ISGRI data reveal a spectrum well described by an absorbed power law model with a high energy cut-off plus an Fe line. We detected the 1.6 hour pulsations initially reported using Chandra/ACIS also in the INTEG…
The results of an optical spectroscopy campaign performed at the Astronomical Observatory of Bologna in Loiano (Italy) on three hard X-ray sources detected by INTEGRAL (IGR J17303-0601, IGR J18027-1455 and IGR J21247+5058) are presented. These data have allowed a determination of the nature for two of them, with IGR J17303-0601 being a low mass X-ray binary in the Galaxy and IGR J18027-1455 a background Type 1 Seyfert galaxy at redshift z = 0.035. IGR J21247+5058, instead, has a quite puzzling spectroscopic appearance, with a broad, redshifted H_alpha complex superimposed onto a `normal' F/G-t…
Context : A 1000-s flare from a new hard X-ray transient, IGR J08408-4503, was observed by INTEGRAL on May 15, 2006 during the real-time routine monitoring of IBIS/ISGRI images performed at the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre. The flare, detected during a single one-hour long pointing, peaked at 250 mCrab in the 20-40 keV energy range. Aims : Multi-wavelength observations, combining high-energy and optical data, were used to unveil the nature of IGR J08408-4503. Methods : A search in all INTEGRAL public data for other bursts from IGR J08408-4503 was performed, and the detailed analysis of another…
Context: IGR J16479-4514 is a fast X-ray transient known to display flares lasting typically a few hours. Recently, its counterpart has been identified with a supergiant star, therefore the source can be classified as member of the newly discovered class of Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs), specifically it is the one with the highest duty cycle. Aims: to characterize the quiescent X-ray behaviour of the source and to compare its broad band spectrum to that during fast X-ray flares. Methods: we performed an analysis of IBIS and JEM-X data with OSA 5.1 as well as an analysis of archival …
On March 2003, INTEGRAL/IBIS detected an outburst from a new source, IGR J17464-3213, that turned out to be a HEAO-1 transient, namely H1743-322. Its fux decayed below the RXTE PCA sensitivity limit in November 2003. On July 3, 2004 the source was again detected by RXTE/PCA reaching an intensity of 70 mCrab in the 2-10 keV band. Another outburst was observed in August 2005. A multiwavelength observation campaign was performed, during the three outbursts, by INTEGRAL, RXTE and CHANDRA satellites and the radio telescopes VLA and ATCA. INTEGRAL data show a good coverage during the July 2004 and A…
Context: AXJ1845.0-0433 was discovered by ASCA in 1993 during fast outburst activity characterized by several flares on short timescales. Up to now, the source was not detected again by any X-ray mission. Its optical counterpart is suggested to be an O9.5I supergiant star, which is the only remarkable object found inside the ASCA error box. Aims: To detect and characterize new fast outbursts of AXJ1845.0-0433 and confirm its supergiant HMXB nature, using INTEGRAL and archival Swift XRT observations. Methods: We performed an analysis of INTEGRAL IBIS and JEM-X data with OSA 5.1 as well as an an…
We present X-ray observations of the transient accretion-powered millisecond pulsar IGR J00291+5934 during quiescence. IGR J00291+5934 is the first source among accretion powered millisecond pulsars to show signs of a thermal component in its quiescent spectrum. Fitting this component with a neutron star atmosphere or a black body model we obtain soft temperatures (~64 eV and ~110 eV, respectively). As in other sources of this class a hard spectral component is also present, comprising more than 60% of the unabsorbed 0.5-10 keV flux. Interpreting the soft component as cooling emission from the…
We report on a Chandra grating observation of the recently discovered hard X-ray transient IGR J17497-2821. The observation took place about two weeks after the source discovery at a flux level of about 20 mCrab in the 0.8-8 keV range. We extracted the most precise X-ray position of IGR J17497-2821, RA=17 49 38.037, DEC= -28 21 17.37 (90% uncertainty of 0.6"). We also report on optical and near infra-red photometric follow-up observations based on this position. With the multi-wavelength information at hand, we discuss the possible nature of the source proposing that IGR J17497-2821 is a low-m…
IGR J18483-0311 is a poorly known transient hard X-ray source discovered by INTEGRAL during observations of the Galactic Center region performed between 23--28 April 2003. Aims: To detect new outbursts from IGR J18483-0311 using INTEGRAL and archival Swift XRT observations and finally to characterize the nature of this source using the optical/near-infrared (NIR) information available through catalogue searches. Results: We report on 5 newly discovered outbursts from IGR J18483-0311 detected by INTEGRAL.For two of them it was possible to constrain a duration of the order of a few days. The str…
Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) are believed to be non-recurrent bright X-ray sources lasting less than a day and occuring at serendipitous positions, they can best detected and discovered by instruments having a sufficiently wide field of view and high sensitivity. The IBIS/ISGRI instrument onboard INTEGRAL is particularly suited to detect new or already known fast X-ray transient sources. We report on IBIS/ISGRI detection of newly discovered outbursts of three fast transient sources located at low Galactic latitude: SAX J1818.6-1703; IGR J16479-4514; IGR J17391-302/XTE J1739-302. The reported r…
We report on results from a 2003 February INTEGRAL observation of the black hole candidate (BHC) 4U 1630-47 and the high energy sources in the Norma Region of the Galaxy and on RXTE and radio observations of 4U 1630-47. To date, there have been 38 new or previously poorly studied sources found by INTEGRAL (the ``IGR'' sources), and 15 of the IGR sources are in the field of view of our observation. We detect 12 of the 15 sources, and we speculate that a subset of the IGR sources may be part of a new population of persistent, hard, intermediate luminosity X-ray sources. During our observations, …
We report on the results of observations of hard X-ray sources in the Galactic plane with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The hard X-ray IGR sources were discovered by the INTEGRAL satellite, and the goals of the Chandra observations are to provide sub-arcsecond localizations to obtain optical and infrared counterparts and to provide constraints on their 0.3-10 keV spectra. We obtained relatively short, ~5 ks, observations for 20 IGR sources and find a bright Chandra source in INTEGRAL error circles in 12 cases. In 11 of these cases, a cross-correlation with optical and/or infrared source catal…
We present the results of our optical spectrophotometric campaign ongoing at the Astronomical Observatory of Bologna in Loiano (Italy) on hard X-ray sources detected by INTEGRAL. We observed spectroscopically the putative optical counterparts of four more INTEGRAL sources, IGR J12391-1610, IGR J18406-0539, 2E 1853.7+1534 and IGR J19473+4452. These data have allowed us to determine their nature, finding that IGR J12391-1610 (=LEDA 170194) and IGR J19473+4452 are Seyfert 2 galaxies at redshifts z = 0.036 and z = 0.053, respectively, IGR J18406-0539 (=SS 406) is a Be massive X-ray binary located …
A new type of high-energy binary systems has been revealed by the INTEGRAL satellite. These sources are in the course of being unveiled by means of multi-wavelength optical, near- and mid-infrared observations. Among these sources, two distinct classes are appearing: the first one is constituted of intrinsically obscured high-energy sources, of which IGR J16318-4848 seems to be the most extreme example. The second one is populated by the so-called supergiant fast X-ray transients, with IGR J17544-2619 being the archetype. We report here on multi-wavelength optical to mid-infrared observations …
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) are a new class of HMXBs discovered thanks to the monitoring of the Galactic plane performed with the INTEGRAL satellite in the last 5 years. These sources display short outbursts (significantly shorter than typical Be/X-ray binaries) with a peak luminosity of a few 1E36 erg/s. The quiescent level, measured only in a few sources, is around 1E32 erg/s. We are performing a monitoring campaign with Swift of four SFXTs (IGRJ16479-4514, XTEJ1739-302, IGRJ17544-2619 and AXJ1841.0-0536/IGRJ18410-0535). We report on the first four months of Swift observations, …
The broad-band 1-300 keV Suzaku spectrum of IGR J17497-2821, the X-ray transient discovered by INTEGRAL in September 2006, is presented. Suzaku observed IGR J17497-2821 on September 25, eight days after its discovery, for a net exposure of about 53 ksec. During the Suzaku observation, IGR J17497-2821 is very bright, 2 x 10^37 erg/s at 8 kpc in the 1-300 keV range, and shows a hard spectrum, typical of black hole candidates in the low-hard state. Despite the multi-mission X-ray monitoring of the source, only with Suzaku is it possible to obtain a broad-band spectrum in the 1-300 keV range with …
A new type of high-energy binary system has been revealed by the INTEGRAL satellite. These sources are being unveiled by means of multi-wavelength optical, near- and mid-infrared observations. Among these sources, two distinct classes are appearing: the first one is constituted of intrinsically obscured high-energy sources, of which IGR J16318-4848 seems to be the most extreme example. The second one is populated by the so-called supergiant fast X-ray transients, with IGR J17544-2619 being the archetype. We report here on multi-wavelength optical to mid-infrared observations of a sample consti…
We report on optical and X-ray observations of the accretion powered ms pulsar IGR J00291+5934 in quiescence. Time resolved I-band photometry has been obtained with the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope, while a 3 ks Chandra observation provided contemporaneous X-ray coverage. We found an unabsorbed 0.5-10 keV X-ray flux of 1x10^-13 erg cm-2 s-1 which implies that the source was in quiescence at the time of the optical observations. Nevertheless, the optical I-band light curve of IGR J00291+5934 shows evidence for strong flaring. After removal of the strongest flares, we find evidence for an or…
On March 2003, IBIS, the gamma-ray imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite, detected an outburst from a new source, IGR J17464-3213, that turned out to be a HEAO-1 transient, H1743-322. In this paper we report on the high energy behaviour of this BHC studied with the three main instruments onboard INTEGRAL. The data, collected with unprecedented sensitivity in the hard X-Ray range, show a quite hard Comptonised emission from 3 keV up to 150 keV during the rising part of the source outburst, with no thermal emission detectable. A few days later, a prominent soft disk multicolour component appear…
The long-term observations of the Galactic Centre as well as the Galactic anti-Centre regions in hard X-rays (10-300 keV) were made in experiments on board Prognoz-9 satellite and "Mir" orbital station (GRIF experiment). Some transient pulsars including A0535+262, GS1722-36, 4U1145-619, A1118-615, EXO2030+37, Sct X-1, SAX J2103.5+4545, IGR 16320-4751, IGR 16465-4507 were observed. The pulsation flux components of A0535+26 and GS1722-36 X-ray emission were revealed at significant level. For other observed pulsars the upper limits of pulsation intensity were obtained. The mean pulsation profiles…
We present further results from our ongoing optical spectrophotometric campaign at the Astronomical Observatory of Bologna in Loiano (Italy) on unidentified hard X-ray sources detected by INTEGRAL. We observed spectroscopically the putative optical counterparts of the INTEGRAL sources IGR J00234+6141, IGR J01583+6713, IGR J06074+2205, IGR J13091+1137 and IGR J20286+2544. We find that the first two are Galactic objects, namely a Cataclysmic Variable at a distance of about 300 pc and a Be/X transient High-Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) located at about 6.4 kpc, respectively, whereas the last one is id…
A new type of high-energy binary system has been revealed by the INTEGRAL satellite. These sources are being unveiled by means of multi-wavelength optical, near- and mid-infrared observations. Among these sources, two distinct classes are appearing: the first one is constituted of intrinsically obscured high-energy sources, of which IGR J16318-4848 seems to be the most extreme example. The second one is populated by the so-called supergiant fast X-ray transients, with IGR J17544-2619 being the archetype. We first give here a general introduction on INTEGRAL sources, before reporting on multi-w…
IGR J17464-3213, already known as the HEAO-1 transient source H1743-322, has been detected during a state transition by the SPI/INTEGRAL telescope. We describe the spectral evolution and flaring activity of IGR J17464-3213/H1743-322 from 2003 March 21 to 2003 April 22. During the first part, the source followed a continuous spectral softening, with the peak of the spectral energy distribution shifting from 100 keV down to a few keV. However the thermal disk and the hard X-ray components had a similar intensity, indicating that the source was in an intermediate state throughout our observations…
We present the first results of our X-ray monitoring campaign on a 1.7 square degree region centered on Sgr A* using the satellites XMM-Newton and Chandra. The purpose of this campaign is to monitor the behavior (below 10 keV) of X-ray sources (both persistent and transient) which are too faint to be detected by monitoring instruments aboard other satellites currently in orbit (e.g., Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer; INTEGRAL). Our first monitoring observations (using the HRC-I aboard Chandra) were obtained on June 5, 2005. Most of the sources detected could be identified with foreground sources, s…
We report on observations of the sixth accretion-powered millisecond pulsar, IGR J00291+5934, with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer. The source is a faint, recurrent X-ray transient initially identified by INTEGRAL. The 599 Hz (1.67 ms) pulsation had a fractional rms amplitude of 8% in the 2-20 keV range, and its shape was approximately sinusoidal. The pulses show an energy-dependent phase delay, with the 6-9 keV pulses arriving up to 85 us earlier than those at lower energies. No X-ray bursts, dips, or eclipses were detected. The neutron star is in a circular 2.46 hr orbit with a very low-mass…
A new type of sources has been discovered by INTEGRAL. These sources are in the course of being unveiled by means of multi-wavelength optical, near- and mid-infrared observations. Among the high-energy binary sources, two distinct classes are appearing. The first class is constituted of intrinsically obscured high-energy sources, of which IGR J16318-4848 seems to be the archetype. The second class is populated by the so-called supergiant fast X-ray transients, with IGR J17544-2619 being the archetype. We report here on multi-wavelength observations of sources from these two classes, focusing o…
The black hole candidate (BHC) X-ray transient 4U 1630-47 continuously produced strong X-ray emission for over 2 years during 2002-2004. We use observations made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) to study the source throughout the outburst along with hard X-ray images from the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL). The source exhibits extreme behaviors, including measured inner disk temperatures (Tin) between 2.7 and 3.8 keV, which are only rivaled by the brightest BHC systems. If the high temperatures are caused by the dominance of electron scattering opacity in…
SAX J1818.6-1703 has been characterised as a Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient system on the basis of several INTEGRAL/IBIS detections since the original BeppoSAX Wide Field Camera detection. Using IBIS/ISGRI, Swift/BAT and archival observations, we show that in fact SAX J1818.6-1703 exhibits emission on a period of 30 +/- 0.1 days, with a high degree of recurrence. SAX J1818.6-1703 is therefore the second SFXT shown to exhibit periodic outbursts, but with a considerably shorter period than the other known system, IGR J11215-5952.
The Galactic bulge region is a rich host of variable high-energy point sources. Since 2005, February 17 we are monitoring the source activity in this region about every three days with INTEGRAL. Thanks to the large field of view, the imaging capabilities and the sensitivity at hard X-rays, we are able to present for the first time a detailed homogeneous (hard) X-ray view of a sample of 76 sources in the Galactic bulge region. We describe the successful monitoring program and show the first results for a period of about one and a half year. We focus on the short (hour), medium (month) and long-…
We present the results of our search for optical counterparts to high-mass X-ray transient sources discovered by various X-ray missions. We obtained CCD images of the X-ray fields through BVR and Halpha filters in order to identify early-type stars in the R-Halpha versus B-V colour-colour diagram. We also obtained medium-resolution spectroscopy of the candidates in order to confirm the presence of Hαemission and perform spectral classification. We report on the discovery of the optical counterparts to two X-ray sources: XTE J1858+034 and IGR J01363+6610, and the follow-up observations of anoth…
