WISE DETECTION OF THE GALACTIC LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARIES

We report on the results from our search for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) detection of the Galactic low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Among 187 binaries cataloged in Liu et al., we find 13 counterparts and 2 candidate counterparts. For the 13 counterparts, 2 (4U 0614+091 and GX 339-4) have already been confirmed by previous studies to have a jet and 1 (GRS 1915+105) to have a candidate circumbinary disk, from which the detected infrared emission arose. Having collected the broadband optical and near-infrared data in the literature and constructed flux density spectra for the other 10 binaries, we identify that 3 (A0620-00, XTE J1118+480, and GX 1+4) are candidate circumbinary disk systems, 4 (Cen X-4, 4U 1700+24, 3A 1954+319, and Cyg X-2) had thermal emission from their companion stars, and 3 (Sco X-1, Her X-1, and Swift J1753.5-0127) are peculiar systems with the origin of their infrared emission rather uncertain. We discuss the results and WISE counterparts' brightness distribution among the known LMXBs, and suggest that more than half of the LMXBs would have a jet, a circumbinary disk, or both.