ECLIPSE TIMINGS OF THE TRANSIENT LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARY EXO 0748-676. IV. THE ROSSI X-RAY TIMING EXPLORER ECLIPSES

We report our complete database of X-ray eclipse timings of the low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748-676 observed by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite. As of this writing we have accumulated 443 full X-ray eclipses, 392 of which have been observed with the Proportional Counter Array on RXTE. These include both observations where an eclipse was specifically targeted and those eclipses found in the RXTE data archive. Eclipse cycle count has been maintained since the discovery of the EXO 0748-676 system in 1985 February. We describe our observing and analysis techniques for each eclipse and describe improvements we have made since the last compilation by Wolff et al. The principal result of this paper is the database containing the timing results from a seven-parameter fit to the X-ray light curve for each observed eclipse along with the associated errors in the fitted parameters. Based on the standard O - C analysis, EXO 0748-676 has undergone four distinct orbital period epochs since its discovery. In addition, EXO 0748-676 shows small-scale events in the O - C curve that are likely due to short-lived changes in the secondary star.