发表机构
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna; INAF, Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna（麻省理工学院; 麻省理工学院卡夫利天体物理学与空间研究研究所; 博洛尼亚大学物理与天文系; 意大利国家天体物理研究所博洛尼亚天体物理学与空间科学观测站）
机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。AI 中文总结
利用JWST/NIRCam首次发现快速爆发源的红外对应体，揭示其剧烈红外变化，为研究中子星吸积物理提供关键锚点。
AI 中文摘要
快速爆发源（MXB 1730$-$335）是已知唯一同时产生I型和II型X射线爆发的中子星，使其成为理解中子星吸积物理的关键系统。它位于Liller 1中，这是一个致密、富含金属的恒星系统，其拥挤的核心和约11星等的视觉消光掩盖了快速爆发源的光学/红外（OIR）对应体近五十年。在此，我们展示了利用JWST/NIRCam获得的Liller 1红外观测结果，这些观测首次揭示了快速爆发源明确的OIR对应体。在X射线活跃状态下捕获的该对应体表现出剧烈的红外变化，在JWST的F200W波段（1.755$-$2.227微米）中变暗约2.5星等，并在分钟时间尺度上出现强烈波动。这些观测为快速爆发源提供了红外锚点，并为未来的光谱观测以及同步红外和X射线监测开辟了道路，以约束伴星的 spectral type 和系统的吸积物理。
英文摘要
The Rapid Burster (MXB 1730$-$335) is the only known neutron star to produce both Type I and Type II X-ray bursts, making it a key system for understanding accretion physics onto neutron stars. It resides in Liller 1, a dense, metal-rich stellar system whose crowded core and $\sim$11 magnitudes of visual extinction have concealed the Rapid Burster's optical/infrared (OIR) counterpart for nearly five decades. Here, we present infrared observations of Liller 1 obtained with JWST/NIRCam that, for the first time, reveal the unambiguous OIR counterpart to the Rapid Burster. Caught in an X-ray active state, the counterpart exhibits dramatic infrared variability, fading by $\sim$ 2.5 magnitudes in JWST's F200W band (1.755$-$2.227 $μ$m) with strong fluctuations on minute timescales. These observations provide an infrared anchor for the Rapid Burster and open the way for future spectroscopy and simultaneous IR and X-ray monitoring to constrain the donor's spectral type and the system's accretion physics.
CommentsSubmitted to ApJL
