Unveiling the nature of IGR J16283-4838

TL;DR

This paper identifies IGR J16283-4838 as a highly absorbed high mass X-ray binary beyond the Galactic center, using optical/NIR observations, spectral analysis, and variability studies to reveal its nature and environment.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed optical/NIR characterization of IGR J16283-4838, confirming its classification as a highly absorbed HMXB and exploring its circumstellar environment.

Findings

IGR J16283-4838 is a highly absorbed HMXB beyond the Galactic center.

The source may be surrounded by a variable circumstellar medium.

Optical/NIR observations successfully identified the system's counterpart.

Abstract

Context. One of the most striking discoveries of the INTEGRAL observatory is the existence of a previously unknown population of X-ray sources in the inner arms of the Galaxy. The investigations of the optical/NIR counterparts of some of them have provided evidence that they are highly absorbed high mass X-ray binaries hosting supergiants. Aims. We aim to identify the optical/NIR counterpart of one of the newly discovered INTEGRAL sources, IGR J16283-4838, and determine the nature of this system. Methods. We present optical and NIR observations of the field of IGR J16283-4838, and use the astrometry and photometry of the sources within it to identify its counterpart. We obtain its NIR spectrum, and its optical/NIR spectral energy distribution by means of broadband photometry. We search for the intrinsic polarization of its light, and its short and long-term photometric variability. Results. We demonstrate that this source is a highly absorbed HMXB located beyond the Galactic center, and that it may be surrounded by a variable circumstellar medium.