AX J1910.7+0917 and three newly discovered INTEGRAL sources

TL;DR

This study uses advanced data analysis of INTEGRAL, Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ASCA observations to identify new X-ray sources near AX J1910.7+0917 and analyze its properties, but cannot definitively classify it.

Contribution

The paper reports the discovery of three new INTEGRAL sources and provides a detailed analysis of AX J1910.7+0917's X-ray properties and potential infrared counterparts.

Findings

Discovered three new INTEGRAL sources near AX J1910.7+0917

AX J1910.7+0917 shows significant X-ray variability

Spectrum of AX J1910.7+0917 includes an iron line at 6.4 keV

Abstract

We take advantage of the high sensitivity of the IBIS/ISGRI telescope and the improvements in the data analysis software to investigate the nature of the still poorly known X-ray source AX J1910.7+0917, and search for close-by previously undetected objects. We analyze all publicly available INTEGRAL data of AX J1910.7+0917, together with a number of archival observations that were carried out in the direction of the source with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ASCA. In the IBIS/ISGRI field-of-view around AX J1910.7+0917, we discovered three new sources: IGR J19173+0747, IGR J19294+1327 and IGR J19149+1036; the latter is positionally coincident with the Einstein source 2E 1912.5+1031. For the first two sources, we also report the results of follow-up observations carried out with Swift/XRT. AX J1910.7+0917 features a clear variability in the X-rays. Its spectrum can be well described with an absorbed (N_H~6x10^(22) cm^(-2)) power-law ({\Gamma}~1.5) model plus an iron line at ~6.4 keV. We also obtained a refined position and report on possible infrared counterparts. The present data do not allow for a unique classification of the sources. Based on the property of its X-ray emission and the analysis of a likely infrared counterpart, we investigate different possibilities for the nature of AX J1910.7+0917.