1999•arXiv (Cornell University)Open access
The identification of the long-period X-ray pulsar 1WGA J1958.2+323 with\n a Be-star/X-ray binary
G. L. Israel, S. Covino, V. F. Polcaro, L. Stella
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Abstract
We present the results of optical observations performed between May and\nSeptember 1998 of the stars within the position error circle of the recently\ndiscovered 12min pulsating X-ray source 1WGA J1958.2+3232. Based on photometry\nand slitless spectroscopy, we selected a likely optical counterpart, which was\nsubsequently determined to be a m_V=15.7 B0Ve star, the spectral properties of\nwhich are in good agreement with the X-ray results. The proposed optical\ncounterpart shows several H, He and Fe emission-lines, while the interstellar\nabsorption spectral features place the star at a distance of about 800 pc.The\ninferred X-ray luminosity for this distance is about 10^33 erg s^-1 in the\n2--10 keV band. We conclude that 1WGA J1958.2+3232 is a likely new long-period\nlow-luminosity accreting neutron star in a Be-star/X-ray binary system.\n
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