Identification of a Likely Radio Counterpart to the Rapid Burster

Abstract

We have identified a likely radio counterpart to the low-mass X-ray binary MXB 1730-335 (the Rapid Burster). The counterpart has shown 8.4 GHz radio on/off behavior correlated with the X-ray on/off behavior as observed by the RXTE/ASM during six VLA observations. The probability of an unrelated, randomly varying background source duplicating this behavior is 1%-3% depending on the correlation timescale. The location of the radio source is R.A. 17^h33^m24^s.61, decl. -33°23'19".8 (J2000), ±0".1. We do not detect 8.4 GHz radio emission coincident with type II (accretion-driven) X-ray bursts. The ratio of radio to X-ray emission during such bursts is constrained to be below the ratio observed during X-ray-persistent emission at the 2.9 σ level. Synchrotron bubble models of the radio emission can provide a reasonable fit to the full data set, collected over several outbursts, assuming that the radio evolution is the same from outburst to outburst but given the physical constraints the emission is more likely to be due to ~1 hr radio flares such as have been observed from the X-ray binary GRS 1915+105.