Swift Deep Galactic Plane Survey Classification of Swift J170800-402551.8 as a Candidate Intermediate Polar Cataclysmic Variable
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O’Connor, B., E. Gogus, J. Hare, et al. “Swift Deep Galactic Plane Survey Classification of Swift J170800-402551.8 as a Candidate Intermediate Polar Cataclysmic Variable.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 525, no. 4 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad2633.
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This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record O’Connor, B., E. Gogus, J. Hare, et al. “Swift Deep Galactic Plane Survey Classification of Swift J170800-402551.8 as a Candidate Intermediate Polar Cataclysmic Variable.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 525, no. 4 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad2633. is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad2633 https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/525/4/5015/7258833
Abstract
Here, we present the results of our multi-wavelength campaign aimed at classifying Swift J170800−402551.8 as part of the Swift Deep Galactic Plane Survey (DGPS). We utilized Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations with Neil Gehrels Swift, Observatory, Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), as well as multi-wavelength archival observations from Gaia, VPHAS, and Hα. The source displays a periodicity of 784 s in our XMM–Newton observation.The X-ray spectrum (XMM–Newton and NuSTAR) can be described by thermal bremsstrahlung radiation with a temperature of kT ≈ 30 keV. The phase-folded X-ray light curve displays a double-peaked, energy-dependent pulse profile. We used Chandra to precisely localize the source, allowing us to identify and study the multiwavelength counterpart. Spectroscopy with SALT identified a Balmer H α line, and potential He I lines, from the optical counterpart. The faintness of the counterpart (r ≈ 21 AB mag) favours a low-mass donor star. Based on these criteria, we classify Swift J170800−402551.8 as a candidate intermediate polar cataclysmic variable, where the spin period of the white dwarf is 784 s.