For the first time, Swift is giving us the opportunity to study supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) throughout all phases of their life: outbursts, intermediate level, and quiescence. We present our intense monitoring of four SFXTs, observed 2-3 times per week since October 2007. We find that, unexpectedly, SFXTs spend most of their time in an intermediate level of accretion (LX∼1033−34 erg s−1), characterized by rich flaring activity. We present an overview of our investigation on SFXTs with Swift, the key results of our Project. We highlight the unique contribution Swift is giving to this field, both in terms of outburst observations and through a systematic monitoring.
@article{arxiv.1003.3041,
title = {Supergiant fast X-ray transients: the Swift monitoring program},
author = {P. Romano and L. Sidoli and G. Cusumano and V. La Parola and J. A. Kennea and S. Vercellone and L. Ducci and H. A. Krimm and P. Esposito and V. Mangano and A. Paizis and D. N. Burrows and N. Gehrels},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1003.3041},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
To appear in the proceedings of 'The Shocking Universe', held in Venice on September 14-18, 2009