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arXiv · 1012.4330

The identification of MAXI J1659-152 as a black hole candidate

M. Kalamkar·J. Homan·D. Altamirano·M. van der Klis·P. Casella·M. Linares
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Abstract

We report on the analysis of all 65 pointed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the recently discovered soft X-ray transient MAXI J1659-152 (initially referred to as GRB 100925A). The source was studied in terms of its evolution through the hardness-intensity diagram (HID) as well as its X-ray variability properties. MAXI J1659-152 traced out an anti-clockwise loop in the HID, which is commonly seen in transient low-mass X-ray binaries. The variability properties of the source, in particular the detection of type-B and type-C low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations, and the way they evolve along the HID track, indicate that MAXI J1659-152 is a black hole candidate. The spectral and variability properties of MAXI J1659-152 imply that the source was observed in the hard and soft intermediate states during the RXTE observations, with several transitions between these two states.

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M. Kalamkar, J. Homan, D. Altamirano, M. van der Klis, P. Casella, M. Linares. 2011-02-26. The identification of MAXI J1659-152 as a black hole candidate. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205%2F731%2F1%2Fl2

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