Table · dataset · 2026
STONKS XMM transient/variable X-ray sources
Listed in IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)
The study of astronomical transients at high energies provides insights into some of the most extreme physical events in the universe; however, carrying out their detection and fast follow-up studies are limited by instrumental constraints.
Description
Search for Transient Object in New observations using Known Sources (STONKS) is a near-real-time transient detection system for XMM-Newton offering the capability to detect transients in XMM-Newton observations at fainter fluxes than can be achieved with wide survey instruments.
We present the transients detected with the STONKS pipeline found in an XMM-Newton multi- year heritage survey of the Galactic plane to identify and classify highly variable X-ray sources that have recently been reported in this region. We examined the alerts created by the STONKS pipeline from over 200 XMM observations of the Galactic plane, screening for instrumental effects. The 78 alerts associated with 70 real astrophysical sources were then subjected to further temporal and spectral analysis.
Read the rest (2 more)
From the 70 sources we identified, we were able to classify 32 with a high degree of confidence, including 7 X-ray binaries, 1 gamma-Cas analogue, and 1 magnetar candidate. Of the 70 sources, 23 were detected for the first time in X-rays. This systematic analysis of publicly available data has shown the value and potential of STONKS in the application to XMM-Newton observations.
It will enable the community to detect transient and highly variable sources at fainter fluxes than with any other X-ray transient detection systems.
Links
Where it is published
- Reference page cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/706/A168 ↗
landing page · from IVOA Registry
Documentation and papers
- ADS 2026A&A...706A.168W ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026A%26A...706A.168W ↗
publication · from IVOA Registry
Catalogue records · 2
- VOResource record dc.g-vo.org/oai.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=ivo_vor&identifier=ivo%3… ↗
metadata API · from IVOA Registry
- Registry record (GAVO) dc.g-vo.org/I/cds.vizier/j/a%2Ba/706/a168 ↗
catalogue entry · from IVOA Registry
Topics
- From keywords
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
Provenance · 1 source records, 10 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory) | ivo://cds.vizier/j/a+a/706/a168 | 15 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:astronomy | mapping · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:infrared | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:optical | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:x-ray | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | rr.resource.res_description |
| license_text | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| publication_date | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | rr.resource.res_title |
| updated_date | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 |