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Issue A&A
Volume 376, Number 2, September II 2001
Page(s) L17 - L21
Section Letters
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20011042



A&A 376, L17-L21 (2001)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20011042

VLT optical observations of V821 Ara(=GX339-4) in an extended "off" state

T. Shahbaz1, R. Fender2 and P. A. Charles3

1  Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
2  Astronomical Institute "Anton Pannekoek" , University of Amsterdam and Center for High Energy Astrophysics, Kruislaan, 403, 1098 SJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    e-mail: rpf@@astro.uva.nl
3  Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
    e-mail: pac@astro.soton.ac.uk

(Received 6 April 2001 / Accepted 19 July 2001 )

Abstract
We report on low-resolution spectroscopy of GX339-4 during its current, extended X-ray "off" state in May 2000 (r=20.1) obtained with the VLT Focal Reducer/low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS1). Although we do not positively detect the secondary star in GX339-4 we place an upper limit of 30 percent on the contribution of a "normal" K-type secondary star spectrum to the observed flux. Using this limit for the observed magnitude of the secondary star, we find a lower limit for the distance of GX339-4 to be 5.6 kpc.


Key words: stars: individual: GX339 -- 4 stars X-rays: stars accretion, accretion disks black hole physics

Offprint request: T. Shahbaz, tsh@ll.iac.es

SIMBAD Objects in preparation



© ESO 2001


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