RXTE observations of the first transient Z source XTE J1701-462: shedding new light on mass accretion in luminous neutron star LMXBs

We report on the first 10 weeks of RXTE observations of the X-ray transient XTE J1701-462 and conclude that it had all the characteristics of the neutron star Z sources, i.e., the brightest persistent neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries. These include the typical Z-shaped tracks traced out in X-ray color diagrams and the variability components detected in the power spectra, such as kHz QPOs and normal and horizontal branch oscillations. XTE J1701-462 is the first transient Z source and provides unique insights into mass accretion rate (mË™) and luminosity dependencies in neutron star X-ray bi... Mehr ...