H1409-45 - A recurrent soft X-ray transient

Abstract

Satellite observations of the soft X-ray variable H1409-45 and observations of a promising optical counterpart are reviewed. It is shown that the source appears to have several types of X-ray variability, ranging from rapid flickering on time scales of seconds to changes between states of different intrinsic luminosity on time scales of months to years, and that the source's X-ray spectrum appears to be softer in its high-luminosity state. The observations indicate that H1409-45 may be a white dwarf accreting mass from a close binary companion and that the X-ray and optical properties most closely resemble the AM Her variables.