Search

We search for reflection-dominated Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (CT AGN) candidates in the Lockman Hole region using the data of SRG/eROSITA Lockman Hole survey. We selected sources with anomalously hard photon indices in the $0.3 - 8.0$ keV band, untypical for type I AGN. In particular, we required that the upper end of the $90\%$ error interval did not exceed a fiducial boundary of $\Gamma=1.3$. We found 291 sources which constitute a rare subpopulation among extragalactic X-ray sources detected by eROSITA in the Lockman Hole field, $\approx 5\%$. These sources constitute the eROSITA sample of CT AGN candidates in the Lockman Hole field. We further divide the sources into three categories depending on the availability of reliable redshift and statistically significant detection of intrinsic absorption. We present two catalogues: the bright sample (37 sources) and the faint one (254). We estimate the fraction and sky density of reflection-dominated CT AGN candidates. We show examples of individual spectra and use stacking analysis to search for possible redshift evolution of their properties with redshift. We analyse combined eROSITA spectra of bright sources of different categories with a physically motivated spectral model UXCLUMPY and find them fully consistent with the fits to the about $\sim 1$ Msec XMM-Newton data for one of our reflection-dominated CT candidates, Type 2 galaxy $\text{SRGe J105348.6+573032}$. The catalogues of CT AGN candidates could be a good starting point for planning future studies and follow-ups at all wavelengths., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

SRGe J194401.8+284452 is the brightest point-like X-ray object within the position uncertainty ellipse of an unidentified $\gamma$-ray source 4FGL J1943.9+2841. We performed multi-wavelength spectral and photometric studies to determine its nature and possible association with the $\gamma$-ray source. We firmly established its optical counterpart with the Gaia based distance of about 415 pc. Our data show that the object is a cataclysmic variable with an orbital period of about 1.5 hours. SRGe J194401.8+284452 exhibits fast spontaneous transitions between the high and low luminosity states simultaneously in the optical and X-rays, remaining relatively stable between the transitions on scales of several months/years. This can be caused by an order of magnitude changes in the accretion rate. The brightness of the source is about 17 mag and 20 mag in the optical range and $5\times 10^{-12}$ and $5\times 10^{-13}$ erg/cm$^2$/s in the $0.3- 10$ keV range in the high and low states, respectively. We constrained the mass of the white dwarf ($0.3 - 0.9$ $M_\odot$) and its temperature in the low state (14750 $\pm$ 1250 K), the mass of the donor star ($\leq$ 0.08 $\pm$ 0.01 $M_ \odot$). In the low state, we detected regular optical pulsations with an amplitude of 0.2 mag and a period of 8 min. They are likely associated with the spin of the white dwarf, rather than with its non-radial pulsations. In the high state, the object demonstrates only stochastic optical brightness variations on time scales of $1 - 15$~minutes with amplitudes of $0.2 - 0.6$~mag. We conclude, that SRGe J194401.8+284452 can be classified as an intermediate polar, and its association with the $\gamma$-ray source is very unlikely.

We present the results of the optical identification and spectroscopic redshift measurements of 216 galaxy clusters detected in the SRG/eROSITA all-sky X-ray survey. The spectroscopic observations were performed in 2020-2023 with the 6-m BTA telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the 2.5-m telescope at the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of the Moscow State University, the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope at the Sayan Solar Observatory of the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish telescope (RTT-150) at the T\"{U}B\.{I}TAK Observatory. For all of the galaxy clusters presented here the spectroscopic redshift measurements have been obtained for the first time. Of these, 139 galaxy clusters have been detected for the first time in the SRG/eROSITA survey and 22 galaxy clusters are at redshifts $z_{spec} \gtrsim 0.7$, including three at $z_{spec} \gtrsim 1$. Deep direct images with the rizJK filters have also been obtained for four distant galaxy clusters at $z_{spec} > 0.7$. For these observations the most massive clusters are selected. Therefore, most of the galaxy clusters presented here most likely will be included in the cosmological samples of galaxy clusters from the SRG/eROSITA survey.

We discuss an algorithm whereby the massive galaxy clusters detected in the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey are identified and their photometric redshifts are estimated. For this purpose, we use photometric redshift estimates for galaxies and WISE forced photometry. To estimate the algorithm operation quality, we used a sample of 634 massive galaxy clusters from the Planck survey with known spectroscopic redshifts in the range $0.1 < z_{spec} < 0.6$. The accuracy of the photometric redshift estimates for this sample is $\delta z_{phot}/(1+z_{phot}) \approx 0.5$%, the fraction of large deviations is 1.3%. We show that these large deviations arise mainly from the projections of galaxy clusters or other large-scale structures at different redshifts in the X-ray source field. Measuring the infrared (IR) luminosities of galaxy clusters allows one to estimate the reliability of the optical identification of the clusters detected in the SRG/eROSITA survey and to obtain an additional independent measurement of their total gravitational masses, $M_{500}$. We show that the masses $M_{500}$ of the galaxy clusters estimated from their IR luminosity measurements have an accuracy $\sigma_{\lg\,M_{500}} = 0.124$, comparable to the accuracy of the mass estimation for the galaxy clusters from their X-ray luminosities.

We examine the long-term (rest-frame time scales from a few months to $\sim 20$ years) X-ray variability of a sample of 2344 X-ray bright quasars from the SDSS DR14Q Catalogue, based on the data of the SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey complemented for $\sim 7$% of the sample by archival data from the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue. We characterise variability by a structure function, $SF^2(\Delta t)$. We confirm the previously known anti-correlation of the X-ray variability amplitude with luminosity. We also study the dependence of X-ray variability on black hole mass, $M_{\rm BH}$, and on an X-ray based proxy of the Eddington ratio, $\lambda_{\rm X}$. Less massive black holes prove to be more variable for given Eddington ratio and time scale. X-ray variability also grows with decreasing Eddington ratio and becomes particularly strong at $\lambda_{\rm X}$ of less than a few per cent. We confirm that the X-ray variability amplitude increases with increasing time scale. The $SF^2(\Delta t)$ dependence can be satisfactorily described by a power law, with the slope ranging from $\sim 0$ to $\sim 0.4$ for different ($M_{\rm BH}$, $\lambda_{\rm X}$) subsamples (except for the subsample with the lowest black hole mass and lowest Eddington ratio, where it is equal to $1.1\pm 0.4$), Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 19 pages, 5 tables, 15 figures

An unidentified $\gamma$-ray source 4FGL J1838.2+3223 has been proposed as a pulsar candidate. We present optical time-series multi-band photometry of its likely optical companion obtained with the 2.1-m telescope of Observatorio Astron\'omico Nacional San Pedro M\'artir, Mexico. The observations and the data from the Zwicky Transient Facility revealed the source brightness variability with a period of $\approx$4.02 h likely associated with the orbital motion of the binary system. The folded light curves have a single sine-like peak per period with an amplitude of about three magnitude accompanied by fast sporadic flares up to one magnitude level. We reproduce them modelling the companion heating by the pulsar. As a result, the companion side facing the pulsar is strongly heated up to 11300$\pm$400 K, while the temperature of its back side is only 2300$\pm$700 K. It has a mass of 0.10$\pm$0.05 ${\rm M}_\odot$ and underfills its Roche lobe with a filling factor of $0.60^{+0.10}_{-0.06}$. This implies that 4FGL J1838.2+3223 likely belongs to the `spider' pulsar family. The estimated distance of $\approx$3.1 kpc is compatible with Gaia results. We detect a flare from the source in X-rays and ultraviolet using Swift archival data and another one in X-rays with the eROSITA all-sky survey. Both flares have X-ray luminosity of $\sim$10$^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ which is two orders of magnitude higher than the upper limit in quiescence obtained from eROSITA assuming spectral shape typical for spider pulsars. If the spider interpretation is correct, these flares are among the strongest flares observed from non-accreting spider pulsars., Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

PSR J1641+8049 is a 2 ms black widow pulsar with the 2.2 h orbital period detected in the radio and $\gamma$-rays. We performed new phase-resolved multi-band photometry of PSR J1641+8049 using the OSIRIS instrument at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. The obtained data were analysed together with the new radio-timing observations from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), the X-ray data from the Spectrum-RG/eROSITA all-sky survey, and all available optical photometric observations. An updated timing solution based on CHIME data is presented, which accounts for secular and periodic modulations in pulse dispersion. The system parameters obtained through the light curve analysis, including the distance to the source 4.6-4.8 kpc and the orbital inclination 56-59 deg, are found to be consistent with previous studies. However, the optical flux of the source at the maximum brightness phase faded by a factor of $\sim$2 as compared to previous observations. Nevertheless, the face of the J1641+8049 companion remains one of the most heated (8000-9500 K) by a pulsar among the known black widow pulsars. We also report a new estimation on the pulsar proper motion of $\approx$2 mas yr$^{-1}$, which yields a spin down luminosity of $\approx$4.87$\times 10^{34}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ and a corresponding heating efficiency of the companion by the pulsar of 0.3-0.7. The pulsar was not detected in X-rays implying its X-ray-luminosity was <3 $\times$ 10$^{31}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at the date of observations., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a sample of 99 dwarf galaxies ($M_*<10^{9.5} M_\odot$) with X-ray activity in their central regions. The sample was obtained from a match of the SRG/eROSITA X-ray catalogue in the Eastern Galactic hemisphere with the MPA-JHU SDSS catalogue. The obtained matches were cleaned rigorously with the help of external optical catalogues to increase the purity of the sample. This work is the largest study of this kind -- X-ray activity in $\approx 85$ per cent of matched dwarfs was not reported before. The majority of X-ray active dwarfs are identified as star-forming galaxies. However, the X-ray luminosity of 82 objects cannot be explained by the collective emission of X-ray binaries, rendering them strong candidates for dwarf galaxies with an active accreting black hole in their centre. We find that the fraction of AGN among dwarf galaxies drops from $\sim 2\cdot 10^{-2}$ at $L_X\sim 10^{39}$ erg/s to $\sim (2-4)\cdot 10^{-4}$ at $L_X\sim 10^{41}$ erg/s and increases with the stellar mass of the host galaxy. We serendipitously discovered sources with unexpected properties. We report on a tidal disruption event (TDE) candidate in a dwarf galaxy, a massive black hole in a dwarf galaxy with a soft thermal spectrum, a luminous dwarf galaxy with an obscured X-ray spectrum and a few other peculiar sources. We found three Ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) candidates and a sample of X-ray bright galaxy pairs, in four of which both members shine in X-rays., Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, two tables. MNRAS Main Journal accepted

We present a sample of SRG/eROSITA X-ray sources located in the eastern Galactic hemisphere (0

We have classified the point-like X-ray sources detected by the SRG/eROSITA telescope in the deep Lockman Hole survey. The goal was to separate the sources into Galactic and extragalactic objects. In this work have used the results of our previous cross-match of X-ray sources with optical catalogs. To classify SRG/eROSITA sources we have used the flux ratio $F_{x}/F_{o}$ and information about the source optical extent. As a result, of the 6885 X-ray sources in the eROSITA catalog 357 sources have been classified as Galactic and 5929 and as extragalactic. 539 out of 6885 have been treated as hostless, i.e., having no optical counterparts in the optical catalogs under consideration. 60 have remained unclassified due to the insufficient reliability of optical photometry. Recall and precision for the extragalactic sources are 99.9 and 98.9% (respectively) and 91.6 and 99.7% for the Galactic sources. Using this classification, we have constructed the curves of cumulative number counts for the Galactic and extragalactic sources in the Lockman Hole field. The code that accompanies this paper is available at https://github.com/mbelveder/ero-lh-class.git., Comment: Published in Astronomy Letters

The Fermi catalogue contains about 2000 unassociated $\gamma$-ray sources. Some of them were recently identified as pulsars, including so called redbacks and black widows, which are millisecond pulsars in tight binary systems with non- and partially-degenerate low-mass stellar companions irradiated by the pulsar wind. We study a likely optical and X-ray counterpart of the Fermi source 4FGL J2054.2+6904 proposed earlier as a pulsar candidate. We use archival optical data as well as Swift/XRT and SRG/eROSITA X-ray data to clarify its nature. Using Zwicky Transient Facility data in $g$ and $r$ bands spanning over 4.7 years, we find a period of $\approx$7.5 h. The folded light curve has a smooth sinusoidal shape with the peak-to-peak amplitude of $\approx$0.4 mag. The spectral fit to the optical spectral energy distribution of the counterpart candidate gives the star radius of 0.5$\pm$0.1$R_\odot$ and temperature of 5500$\pm$300 K implying a G2--G9-type star. Its X-ray spectrum is well fitted by an absorbed power law with the photon index of 1.0$\pm$0.3 and unabsorbed flux of $\approx 2\times10^{-13}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$. All the properties of 4FGL J2054.2$+$6904 and its presumed counterpart suggest that it is a member of the redback family., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 6 pages, 6 figures

We present a method for the optical identification of sources detected in wide-field X-ray sky surveys. We have constructed and trained a neural network model to characterise the photometric attributes of the populations of optical counterparts of X-ray sources and optical field objects. The photometric information processing result is used for the probabilistic cross-match of X-ray sources with optical DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys sources. The efficiency of the method is illustrated using the SRG/eROSITA Survey of Lockman Hole. To estimate the accuracy of the method, we have produced a validation sample based on the Chandra and XMM-Newton catalogues of X-ray sources. The cross-match precision in our method reaches 94% for the entire X-ray catalogue and 97% for sources with a flux $F_{\rm x, 0.5-2}>10^{-14}$ erg/s/cm$^2$. We discuss the further development of the optical identification model and the steps needed for its application to the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey data., Comment: Astronomy Letters accepted for publication. 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Code will be available at https://github.com/SergeiDBykov/lockman_hole after the publication of the main catalog

Based on a comparison of the SRG/eROSITA catalog of X-ray active stars and the Gaia catalog, a sample of 502 peculiar objects was obtained for which Gaia, on one hand, detects statistically significant values of parallax or proper motion and, on the other hand, registers signs of the non zero source extent in the optical band. In the log ($F_X/F_{\rm opt}$) - (G-RP) color diagram these objects are separated from the balk of X-ray active stars and are located in the region typical for the galaxies with active nuclei. According to the SIMBAD database, about $\sim 50$% of them are confirmed AGNs and galaxies with spectroscopically measured redshifts, and only $\sim$1.4% are confirmed Galactic objects. Spectroscopic observations of 19 unidentified objects on the RTT-150 telescope demonstrated, that 18 of them are AGNs at redshifts $\sim$0.01-0.3, and one object is a M star in our Galaxy. We discuss various scenarios explaining the nature of such peculiar objects., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, published in Astronomy Letters

We present the results of the optical identification, classification, as well as analysis of photometric and spectral observations of the X-ray transient SRGe2149+6736 detected by the eROSITA telescope during SRG all-sky X-ray survey. Photometric observations of the optical companion of SRGe2149+6736 were carried out on 6m telescope BTA SAO RAS, 1.5m Russian-Turkish telescope RTT-150 and 2.5m telescope CMO of Moscow State University. Together with ZTF data they showed that the source is a cataclysmic variable with an orbital period $P=85\pm0.4$~min which demonstrates long-term brightness variability from $23.5$~mag (low state) to $20$~mag (high state). The high-state light curves are consistent with a model of accreting magnetic white dwarf and suggest that SRGe2149+6736 belongs to AM~Her type variables. The optical spectra obtained in the low state are consistent with a spectral energy distribution of a white dwarf with a temperature of ~24000 K.

Abstract abridged. The eROSITA X-ray telescope aboard the SRG orbital observatory, in the course of its all-sky survey, is expected to detect about three million active galactic nuclei (AGN) and hundred thousand clusters and groups of galaxies. Such a sample complemented with redshift information, will open a new window into the studies of the Large-Scale structure (LSS) of the Universe and the determination of its cosmological parameters. The purpose of this work is to assess the prospects of cosmological measurements with the eROSITA sample of AGN and clusters of galaxies. We assume the availability of photometric redshift measurements for eROSITA sources and explore the impact of their quality on our forecasts. We use the redshift-resolved angular power spectrum of objects. We use a Fisher-matrix formalism and assume flat LambdaCDM cosmology to forecast the constraining power. We compute the LSS-relevant characteristics of AGN and clusters in the framework of the halo model and their X-ray luminosity functions. We find that the accuracy of photometric redshift estimates has a more profound effect on cosmological measurements than the fraction of catastrophic errors. Under realistic assumptions about the photometric redshift quality, the marginalized errors on the cosmological parameters achieve 1 - 10% accuracy depending on the cosmological priors used from other experiments. The statistical significance of BAO detection in angular power spectra of AGN and clusters of galaxies considered individually achieves 5 - 6 sigma. Our results demonstrate that the eROSITA sample of AGN and clusters of galaxies used in combination with currently available photometric redshift estimates will provide cosmological constraints on a par with dedicated optical LSS surveys., Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics accepted for publication. 16 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. Code available at https://github.com/SergeiDBykov/forecast_clustering

We report the discovery of the bright reflected emission component in the super-Eddington state of the ULX pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124, based on the NuSTAR observations of the source during its 2017 outburst. The flux of the reflected emission is weakly variable over the pulsar phase while the direct emission shows significantly larger pulsation amplitude. We propose that in this system the neutron star finds itself in the centre of the well formed by the inner edge of the geometrically thick super-Eddington accretion disc truncated by the magnetic field of the pulsar. The aspect ratio of the well is H/R \sim 1. The inner edge of the truncated disc is continuously illuminated by the emission of the accretion column giving rise to the weakly variable reflected emission. As the neutron star rotates, its emission sweeps through the line of sight, giving rise to the pulsating direct emission. From Doppler broadening of the iron line, we measure the truncation radius of the accretion disc \sim 50 R_g. The inferred dipole component of the magnetic field is consistent with previous estimates favouring a not very strong field. The uniqueness of this system is determined by its moderately super-Eddington accretion rate and the moderate magnetic field so that the inner edge of the truncated geometrically thick accretion disc is seen from the neutron star at a large solid angle., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal Accepted. Code available via this url: https://github.com/SergeiDBykov/nustar_sj0243

The galaxy cluster SRGe CL2305.2$-$2248 (SPT-CL J2305$-$2248, ACT-CL J2305.1$-$2248) is one of the most massive clusters at high redshifts ($z \simeq 0.76$) and is of great interest for cosmology. For an optical identification of this cluster, deep images were obtained with the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish telescope RTT-150. Together with the open archival data of the Hubble Space Telescope, it became possible to identify candidates for gravitationally lensed images of distant blue galaxies in the form of arcs and arclets. The observed giant arc near the brightest cluster galaxies allowed us to estimate the radius of the Einstein ring, which is $ 9.8 \pm 1.3 $ arcseconds. The photometric redshift of the lensed source was obtained ($ z_s = 2.44 \pm 0.07 $). Its use in combination with the Einstein radius estimate made it possible to independently estimate the \cl2305 mass. It was done by extrapolating the strong lensing results to large radii and using the model density distribution profiles in relaxed clusters. This extrapolation leads to mass estimates $ \sim 1.5-3 $ times smaller than those obtained from X-ray and microwave observations. A probable cause for this discrepancy may be the process of cluster merging, which is also confirmed by SRGe CL2305.2-2248 morphology in the optical range., Comment: published in Astronomy Letters

We present a probabilistic model built for the optical cross-match between the SRG/eROSITA X-ray sources and photometric data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. The model relies both on positional and photometric information on optical objects nearby X-ray sources and allows performing selection with precision and recall $\approx94$% (for $F_{\rm X,0.5-2}>10^{-14}$ erg/s/cm$^2$). With this model, we calibrated positional error of the SRG/eROSITA sources detected in the Lockman Hole: $\sigma_{\rm corr} = 0.87\sqrt{ \sigma_{\rm det}^{2.53} + 1.12^2}$. The model will become a part of the SRGz system for data analysis of the X-ray data obtained from the all-sky SRG/eROSITA survey., Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, published in Astronomy Letters

We model X-ray luminosity functions (XLF) of accreting neutron stars and black holes in $10^{35} \leq L_X \leq 10^{41}$ erg/s range in star-forming galaxies and galaxies with the initial star formation burst. XLFs are obtained by combining a fast generation of compact object+normal star population using the binary population synthesis code BSE and calculation of the subsequent detailed binary evolution by the MESA code. XLFs in the galaxies of both types is broadly reproduced using the standard assumptions of the binary star evolution., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, typos corrected, accepted to Proc. conf. VAK-2021, August 23-28, 2021, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow (Ed. by A.M. Cherepashchuk et al.)

Aims. We study the X-ray emission of the galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G18.95-1.1 with the eROSITA telescope on board the Spectrum Rentgen Gamma (SRG) orbital observatory. In addition to the pulsar wind nebula that was previously identified and examined by ASCA and Chandra, we study the X-ray spectra of the bright SNR ridge, which is resolved into a few bright clumps. Methods. The wide field of view and the large collecting area in the 0.2-2.3 keV energy range of SRG/eROSITA allowed us to perform spatially resolved spectroscopy of G18.95-1.1. Results. The X-ray ridge of G18.95-1.1 is asymmetric, indicating either supernova ejecta asymmetry or their interaction with a cloud. The X-ray dim northern regions outside the pulsar wind nebula can be described by a thin thermal plasma emission with a temperature ~0.3 keV and a solar composition. The X-ray spectra of a few bright clumps located along the southern ridge may be satisfactorily approximated by a single thermal component of the Si-rich ejecta at the collisional ionization equilibrium with a temperature of about 0.3 keV. The bright ridge can be alternatively fit with a single component that is not dominated by equilibrium ejecta with T ~ 0.6 keV. The high ratio of the derived Si/O abundances indicates that the ejecta originated in deep layers of the progenitor star. The plasma composition of a southern Si-rich clump and the bright ridge are similar to what was earlier found in the Vela shrapnel A and G.

The results of multiwavelength observations of the very massive galaxy cluster SRGe CL2305.2-2248 detected in X-rays during the first SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey are discussed. This galaxy cluster was also detected earlier in microwave band through the observations of Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect in South Pole Telescope (SPT-CL J2305-2248), and in Atacama Cosmological Telescope (ACT-CL J2305.1-2248) surveys. Spectroscopic redshift measurement, $z=0.7573$, was measured at the Russian 6-m BTA telescope of SAO RAS, in good agreement with its photometric estimates, including a very accurate one obtained using machine learning methods. In addition, deep photometric measurements were made at the Russian-Turkish 1.5-m telescope (RTT150), which allows to study cluster galaxies red sequence and projected galaxies distribution. Joint analysis of the data from X-ray and microwave observations show that this cluster can be identified as a very massive and distant one using the measurements of its X-ray flux and integral comptonization parameter only. The mass of the cluster estimated according to the eROSITA data is $M_{500}=(9.0\pm2.6)\cdot10^{14}\, M_\odot$. We show that this cluster is found among of only several dozen of the most massive clusters in the observable Universe and among of only a few the most massive clusters of galaxies at $z>0.6$., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Letters

We report a discovery of a new long-period X-ray pulsar SRGA J204318.2+443815/SRGe J204319.0+443820 in the Be binary system. The source was found in the second all-sky survey by the Mikhail Pavlinsky telescope on board the SRG mission. The follow-up observations with XMM-Newton, NICER and NuSTAR observatories allowed us to discover a strong coherent signal in the source light curve with the period of $\sim742$ s. The pulsed fraction was found to depend on the energy increasing from $\sim20$% in soft X-rays to $>50$% at high energies, as it is typical for X-ray pulsars. The source demonstrate a quite hard spectrum with an exponential cutoff at high energies and bolometric luminosity of $L_X \simeq 4\times10^{35}$ erg/s. Dedicated optical and infrared observations with the RTT-150, NOT, Keck and Palomar telescopes revealed a number of emission lines (H$_{\alpha}$, HeI, Pashen and Braket series) with the strongly absorbed continuum. All of above suggests that SRGAJ204318.2+443815/ SRGeJ204319.0+443820 is a new persistent low luminosity X-ray pulsar in a distant binary system with a Be-star of the B0-B2e class. Thus the SRG observatory allow us to unveil the hidden population of faint persistent objects including the population of slowly rotating X-ray pulsars in Be systems., Comment: Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission. 9 pages, 9 figures

Context: During the ongoing all-sky survey, the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope on board the SRG observatory should discover new X-ray sources, many of which can be transient. Here we report on the discovery and multiwavelength follow-up of a peculiar X-ray source SRGA J043520.9+552226=SRGe J043523.3+552234 - the high-energy counterpart of the optical transient AT2019wey. Aims: Thanks to its sensitivity and the survey strategy, the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope uncovers poorly studied weak transient populations. Using a synergy with current public optical surveys, we are aiming at revealing the nature of these transients to study its parent populations. The SRGA J043520.9+552226 is the first transient detected by ART-XC which has a bright optical counterpart suitable for further studies. Methods: We have used available public X-ray and optical data and observations with SRG, INTEGRAL, NuSTAR, NICER and ground-based telescopes to investigate the source spectral energy distributions at different phases of the outburst. Results: Based on X-ray spectral and timing properties derived from space observations, optical spectroscopy and photometry obtained with the 2.5-m and RC600 CMO SAI MSU telescopes, we propose the source to be a black hole in a low-mass close X-ray binary system., Comment: Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission. 9 pages, 6 figures

We present results of phase- and time-resolved study of iron spectral features in the emission of the Be/X-ray transient pulsar V0332+53, during its type II outburst in 2004 using archival RXTE/PCA data. Coherent pulsations of both fluorescent iron line at {\approx}6.4 keV and neutral iron K-edge at {\approx}7.1 keV have been detected throughout the entire outburst. The pulsating iron K-edge is reported for the first time for this object. Near the peak of the outburst, the 3-12 keV pulse profile shows two deep, F_max / F_min ~ 2, and narrow dips of nearly identical shape, separated by exactly {\Delta}{\phi}=0.5 in phase. The dip spectra are nearly identical to each other and very similar in shape to the spectra outside the dips. The iron K-edge peaks at the phase intervals corresponding to the dips, although its optical depth {\tau}_K ~ 0.05 is by far insufficient to explain the dips. The iron line shows pulsations with a complex pulse profile without any obvious correlation with the total flux or optical depth of the K-edge. Accounting for the component associated with reprocessing of the pulsar emission by the surface of the donor star and circumstellar material, we find a very high pulsation amplitude of the iron line flux, F_max / F_min ~ 10. We demonstrate that these properties of V0332+53 can not be explained by contemporary emission models for accreting X-ray pulsars and speculate about the origin of the observed iron spectral features., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journal Accepted

We present the results of our identification of eight objects from a preliminary catalogue of X-ray sources detected in the 4-12 keV energy band by the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope aboard the SRG observatory during its first all-sky survey. Three of them (SRGAJ005751.0+210846,SRGAJ014157.0-032915, SRGAJ232446.8+440756) have been discovered by ART-XC, while five were already known previously as X-ray sources, but their nature remained unknown. The last five sources have also been detected in soft X-rays by the eROSITA telescope of the SRG observatory. Our optical observations were carried out at the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Observatory and the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish telescope (RTT-150). All of the investigated objects have turned out to be active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at redshifts from 0.019 to 0.283. Six of them are Seyfert 2 galaxies(including one Seyfert 1.9 galaxy), one (SRGAJ005751.0+210846) is a "hidden" AGN (in an edge-on galaxy), and one (SRGAJ224125.9+760343) is a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy. The latter object is characterized by a high X-ray luminosity (~(2-13)*10^44 erg/s in the 4-12 keV band) and,according to our black hole mass estimate (~2*10^7 M_sun), an accretion rate close to the Eddington limit. All three AGNs discovered by the ART-XC telescope (which are not detected by the eROSITA telescope) are characterized by a high absorption column density (N_H > 3*10^23 cm^-2). The results obtained confirm the expectations that the ART-XC telescope is an efficient instrument for searches of heavily obscured and other interesting AGNs in the nearby (z<0.3) Universe. The SRG all-sky survey will last for more than 3 years more, which will allow many such objects to be discovered.

SRGE J170245.3+130104 was discovered by the eROSITA telescope aboard the SRG space observatory on March 13-15, 2020 during the first half-year scan of its all-sky X-ray survey. The optical counterpart of the X-ray source was photometrically identified as a distant quasar candidate at $z\approx5.5$. Follow-up spectroscopic observations, done in August/September 2020 with the SCORPIO-II instrument at the BTA 6-m telescope, confirmed that SRGE J170245.3+130104 is a distant quasar at redshift z=5.466. The X-ray luminosity of the quasar during the first half-year scan of the eROSITA all-sky survey was $3.6^{+2.1}_{-1.5}\times 10^{46}$ erg/s (in the 2-10 keV energy range), whereas its X-ray spectrum could be described by a power law with a slope of $\Gamma=1.8^{+0.9}_{-0.8}$. Six months later (September 13-14, 2020), during the second half-year scan of the eROSITA all-sky survey, the quasar was detected again and its X-ray luminosity had decreased by a factor of 2 (at the $\approx 1.9\sigma$ confidence level). The SRGE J170245.3+130104 proves to be the most X-ray luminous among all known X-ray quasars at $z>5$. It is also one of the radio-loudest distant quasars (with radio-loudness $R\sim10^3$), which may imply that it is a blazar. In the Appendix, we present the list of all $z>5$ quasars detected in X-rays to date., Comment: Preprint: Original russian text: Pis'ma v Astronomichesky Zhurnal 2021, volume 47,Number 3, pages 155-173

eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) instrument onboard the Russian-German `Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma' (SRG) mission observed the Her X-1/HZ Her binary system in multiple scans over the source during the first and second SRG all-sky surveys. Both observations occurred during a low state of the X-ray source when the outer parts of the accretion disk blocked the neutron star from view. The orbital modulation of the X-ray flux was detected during the low states. We argue that the detected X-ray radiation results from scattering of the emission of the central source by three distinct regions: (a) an optically thin hot corona with temperature $\sim (2-4) \times 10^6$ K above the irradiated hemisphere of the optical star; (b) an optically thin hot halo above the accretion disk; and (c) the optically thick cold atmosphere of the optical star. The latter region effectively scatters photons with energies above $5-6$ keV., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics