Optical photometry and spectroscopy of the X-ray pulsar 1E 1145.1 – 6141

Abstract

High-resolution spectra of the optical counterpart of the X-ray pulsar IE 1145.1 – 6141 have been obtained. The star is found to be of spectral type B2 Iae with a broad Hα emission feature and variable C, N, O and Si lines. Multicolour photometry is also presented, showing no variations on a time-scale of days although the object appears ~ 1 mag fainter than an observation two months previously. A distance of ~ 8.2 kpc is obtained for the system and orbital parameters estimated.