A 2.9 hr Periodic Radio Transient with an Optical Counterpart

Abstract

We present a long-period radio transient (GLEAM-X J0704−37) discovered to have an optical counterpart, consistent with a cool main-sequence star of spectral type M3. The radio periodicity occurs at the longest period yet found, 2.9 hr, and was discovered in archival low-frequency data from the Murchison Widefield Array. High time resolution observations from MeerKAT show that pulsations from the source display complex microstructure and high linear polarisation, suggesting a pulsar-like emission mechanism occurring due to strong, ordered magnetic fields. The timing residuals, measured over more than a decade, show tentative evidence of a ∼6 yr modulation. The high Galactic latitude of the system and the M-dwarf star excludes a magnetar interpretation, suggesting a more likely M-dwarf/white dwarf binary scenario for this system.