First results of X-shooter observations of IGR sources

TL;DR

This paper presents initial findings from X-shooter spectroscopic observations of IGR sources, revealing their complex spectra and aiding in understanding their physical properties.

Contribution

It reports the first results of using X-shooter to observe IGR sources, demonstrating its capability to analyze their spectral features across a broad wavelength range.

Findings

Spectral signatures of emission and absorption components identified

Physical properties of IGR counterparts inferred

X-shooter effectively characterizes complex spectra

Abstract

X-shooter is a second generation ESO-VLT instrument that had its first light in October 2009. It is a single object medium-resolution spectrograph whose main feature is the capability of covering simultaneously in a single observation the range from 3000 to 24000 Angstrom. This unique capability is very well suited to investigate the complex spectra of the optical counterparts of X/gamma ray sources which usually display signatures of different components in emission and absorption. In July 2012 we observed with X-shooter a small sample of counterparts of bright IGR sources in order to better determine their physical properties. We present the first results of these observations.