{
  "abstract": "After sixteen years in quiescence, EXO 0748-676 unexpectedly returned to outburst in March 2024. However, in stark contrast to its previous outburst (1985 - 2008), EXO 0748-676 returned to quiescence in January 2025, after ~ 10 months in outburst. Here, we collate data from nine observing facilities, covering wavelengths from radio to X-ray, to provide the first multi-wavelength study of the 2024/25 outburst. Unlike the 1985 outburst, both the rise and decay are fully captured at X-ray and optical wavelengths. The light curves do not exhibit the hallmarks of a canonical transient low-mass X-ray binary outburst. Instead, the X-ray and optical fluxes remain reasonably stable during the 2024/25 outburst. The wealth of optical data of EXO 0748-676 reveals a skewed optical phase curve and an irradiation-dominated optical light curve which lasts until the onset of hydrogen recombination in the outer disc at ~11000K, triggering a rapid fade at the end of the outburst. X-ray observations by XMM-Newton and NICER revealed that EXO 0748-676 was heavily obscured early on, with spectra exhibiting a dampened soft X-ray contribution. We find that a spectral model including a clumpy, ionised absorber describes the obscuration, although the exact cause of the early-time obscuration remains uncertain. X-ray colour analysis indicates that EXO 0748-676 spent most of the ~10 month outburst in a faint, hard state. EXO 0748-676 increased marginally in brightness towards the end of the outburst, but never entered a soft spectral state. This behaviour is characteristic of a failed transition outburst.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.00495",
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Amy H. Knight"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lauren Rhodes"
    },
    {
      "name": "Noel Castro Segura"
    },
    {
      "name": "Douglas J. K. Buisson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aru Beri"
    },
    {
      "name": "David M. Russell"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kevin Alabarta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maria C. Baglio"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jakob van den Eijnden"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matthew J. Middleton"
    },
    {
      "name": "Payaswini Saikia"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chris Done"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rob Fender"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fraser Lewis"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5s6zswz2ftmp3.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.00495",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5s6zswz2ftmp3",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00495",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7215737042",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.00495",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5s6zswz2ftmp3.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:03Z",
      "native_id": "2610.00495",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00495"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Multi-Wavelength Picture of the Surprisingly Short 2024/25 Outburst from EXO 0748-676",
  "title_text": "A Multi-Wavelength Picture of the Surprisingly Short 2024/25 Outburst from EXO 0748-676",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:03Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5s6zswz2ftmp3",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}