{
  "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": [
    "Durham University Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE ,",
    "Trottier Space Institute at McGill, 3550 Rue University , Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7 ,",
    "McGill University, 3600 Rue University Department of Physics, , Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8 ,",
    "Gibbet Hill Road, University of Warwick Department of Physics, , Coventry, CV4 7AL ,",
    "Independent Researcher",
    "Indian Institute of Astrophysics , Koramangala II Block, Bangalore 560034 ,",
    "University of Southampton Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ ,",
    "Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS) , New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188 Abu Dhabi ,",
    "INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera , Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC) ,",
    "Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, Universiteit van Amsterdam , Science Park 904, NL-1098 XH Amsterdam ,",
    "Yale University Department of Astronomy, , PO Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 ,",
    "The University of Oxford Astrophysics, Department of Physics, , Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH ,",
    "University of Cape Town Department of Astronomy, , Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701 ,",
    "Faulkes Telescope Project , Cardiff, Wales ,",
    "The Schools’ Observatory, Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University , 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Amy H Knight",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8597-3028"
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    {
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        1,
        2
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      "name": "Lauren Rhodes",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2705-4941"
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    {
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        3
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      "name": "Noel Castro Segura"
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    {
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        4
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      "name": "Douglas J K Buisson"
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    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
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      "name": "Aru Beri"
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    {
      "affs": [
        7
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      "name": "David M Russell"
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    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Alabarta",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0168-9906"
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    {
      "affs": [
        8
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      "name": "Maria C Baglio"
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    {
      "affs": [
        9
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      "name": "Jakob van den Eijnden"
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        6
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      "name": "Matthew J Middleton"
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    {
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        10
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      "name": "Payaswini Saikia"
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    {
      "affs": [
        0
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      "name": "Chris Done"
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    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Rob Fender"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13,
        14
      ],
      "name": "Fraser Lewis"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5x4tjv7fsbh9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/mnras/stag2056",
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    "0035-8711",
    "1365-2966"
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  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "published": "2026-10-31",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5x4tjv7fsbh9.ris",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:40Z",
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    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies",
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  ],
  "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": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T00:20:40Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5x4tjv7fsbh9",
  "venue": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
  "versions": []
}