Unveiling the nature of IGR J17497-2821 using X-ray and near-infrared observations

We report on a Chandra grating observation of the recently discovered hard X-ray transient IGR J17497-2821. The observation took place about 2 weeks after the discovery of the source at a flux level of about 20 mcrab in the 0.8-8 keV range. We extracted the most precise X-ray position of IGR J17497-2821, i.e., alpha(J2000) = 17(h)49(m)38.037(s), delta(J2000) = -28 degrees 21'17.37" (with a 90% uncertainty of 0.6"). We also report on optical and near-infrared photometric follow-up observations based on this position. With the multiwavelength information at hand, we discuss the possible nature of the source, proposing that IGR J17497-2821 is a low-mass X-ray binary, most likely hosting a black hole, with a red giant K-type companion.