A long-term modulation in XTE j1716-389: An SS433-like system

We report on the properties of a 99.3-d periodic modulation in the X-ray transient XTE J1716-389. We associate this source with the transient KS J1716-389, first detected by the Mir/Kvant module in 1994. The spectral characteristics of XTE J1716-389, a high intrinsic absorption column, strong emission features and a power-law spectrum, make it very similar to the class of highly absorbed X-ray binaries detected by INTEGRAL. We associate the 99.3-d periodic behaviour with the geometrical obscuration that results from a precessing circumbinary disc that is moving in and out of the field of view, comparable to what has been proposed for SS 433. We therefore propose that XTE J1716-389 is a high-mass X-ray binary with a supergiant companion that is similar not only to SS 433, but also to the new class of highly obscured X-ray binaries, suggesting that SS 433 is a member of much wider population that is now being detected by INTEGRAL.