Abstract
Aims. In order to discover new X-ray transients, the data taken by XMM-Newton as it slews between targets are being processed and cross-correlated with other X-ray observations.Methods. A bright source, XMMSL1 J060636.2-694933, was detected on 18 July 2006 at a position where no previous X-ray source had been seen. The XMM-Newton slew data, plus follow-up dedicated XMM-Newton and Swift observations, plus optical data acquired with the Magellan Clay telescope, and archival All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) data were used to classify the new object, and to investigate its properties.Results. No XMM-Newton slew X-ray counts are detected above 1 keV and the source is seen to be over five hundred times brighter than the ROSAT All-Sky Survey upper limit at that position. The line-rich optical spectrum acquired with the Magellan telescope allows the object to be classified as an A auroral phase nova, and the soft X-ray spectrum indicates that the nova was in a super-soft source state in the X-ray decline seen in the follow-up X-ray observations. The archival ASAS data suggests that the nova at onset (Oct 2005) was a "very fast" nova, and an estimate of its distance is consistent with the nova being situated within the LMC.Conclusions. With the discovery presented here of a new classical nova in the LMC, it is clear that XMM-Newton slew data are continuing to offer a powerful opportunity to find new X-ray transient objects.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1309-1317 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Astronomy and Astrophysics |
Volume | 506 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2 2009 |
Keywords
- Stars: individual: XMMSL1 J060636.2-694933
- Stars: novae, cataclysmic variables
- Surveys
- X-rays: general
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science