Optical/IR counterpart to the resolved X-ray jet source CXO J172337.5-373442 and its distance

TL;DR

This study identifies the optical/IR counterpart to a resolved X-ray jet source, estimates its distance, and suggests it is a binary system with a compact object, highlighting the potential ubiquity of such jets during quiescence.

Contribution

First identification of the optical/IR counterpart to a resolved X-ray jet source and estimation of its distance, indicating a binary system with a likely accreting compact object.

Findings

Optical/IR counterpart is a G9-V star at 334±60 pc.

X-ray luminosity suggests a binary system with a compact object.

The X-ray jet was likely launched during a quiescent state.

Abstract

We present results of observations in the optical to mid-infrared wavelengths of the X-ray source CXO J172337.5-373442, which was serendipitously discovered in the Chandra images and was found to have a fully resolved X-ray jet. The observations include a combination of photometry and spectroscopy in the optical using ground-based telescopes and mid-infrared photometry using Spitzer. We detect the optical/IR counterpart of CXO J172337.5-373442 and identify it to be a G9-V star located at a distance of 334+-60~pc. Comparable values of the hydrogen column densities determined independently from the optical/IR observations and X-ray observations indicate that the optical source is associated with the X-ray source. Since the X-ray luminosity can not be explained in terms of emission from a single G9-V star, it is likely that CXO J172337.5-373442 is an accreting compact object in a binary system. Thus, CXO J172337.5-373442 is the nearest known resolved X-ray jet from a binary system, which is not a symbiotic star. Based on the existing X-ray data, the nature of the compact object can not be confirmed. However the low luminosity of the X-ray point source, 7.1x10^{30} Lsun combined with estimates of the age of the jet and a lack of detection of bright outburst, suggests that the X-ray jet was launched during extreme quiescence of the object. The measured low X-ray luminosity of the jet suggests the likelihood of such jets being more ubiquitous than our current understanding.