English

Observational Limits on X-ray Bursts from RRAT J1911+00

Astrophysics 2007-05-23 v1

Abstract

(abridged) The high radio-flux brightness temperature of the recently discovered class of sources known as Rotating RAdio Transients (RRATs) motivates detailed study in the X-ray band. We describe analyses of historical X-ray data, searching for X-ray phenomena (sources, behaviors), finding no sources or behaviors which may unequivocally be associated with RRAT J1911+00. We put forward a candidate X-ray counterpart to RRAT J1911+00, discovered in a Chandra observation in Feb 2001, which fades by a factor >5 prior to April 2004. The X-ray flux and optical (F_X/F_R>12) and near infra-red (F_X/F_J>35) limits, as well as the X-ray flux itself, are consistent with an AGN origin, unrelated to RRAT J1911+00. Searches for msec X-ray bursts found no evidence for such a signal, and we place the first observational upper-limit on the X-ray to radio flux ratio of RRAT bursts: F_X/F_{radio} <6e-11 ergs cm-2 s-1 mJy-1. The upper-limit on the X-ray burst flux (corresponding to <2.2e37 (d/3.3 kpc)^2 erg s-1, 2-10 keV) requires a limit on the spectral energy density power-law slope of \alpha<-0.3 between the radio and X-ray bands. We place a limit on the time-average X-ray burst luminosity, associated with radio bursts, of < 3.4e30 (d/3.3 kpc)^2 erg s-1.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0609092,
  title  = {Observational Limits on X-ray Bursts from RRAT J1911+00},
  author = {Kelsey Hoffman and Robert E. Rutledge and Derek B. Fox and Avishay Gal-Yam and S. Bradley Cenko and .},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0609092},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

20 pages; ApJ, submitted