Spectral Properties of the Soft X-Ray Transient MAXI J0637-430 Using AstroSat

Soft X-ray transients are systems that are detected when they go into an outburst, wherein their X-ray luminosity increases by several orders of magnitude. These outbursts are markers of the poorly understood change in the spectral state of these systems from the low/hard state to the high/soft state. We report the spectral properties of one such soft X-ray transient: MAXI J0637-430, with data from the SXT and LAXPC instruments on board the AstroSat mission. The source was observed for a total of ~60 ks in two observations on 2019 November 8 and 21 soon after its discovery. Flux-resolved spectral analysis of the source indicates the presence of a multicolor blackbody component arising from the accretion disk and a thermal Comptonization component. The stable low temperature (~0.55 keV) of the blackbody component points to a cool accretion disk with an inner disk radius of the order of a few hundred kilometers. In addition, we report the presence of a relativistically broadened Gaussian line at 6.4 keV. The disk-dominated flux and photon power-law index of ⪆2 and a constant inner disk radius indicate the source to be in the soft state. From the study we conclude that MAXI J0637-430 is a strong candidate for a black hole X-ray binary.