2002A&A...394..553I

XTE J1908+094 is an X-ray transient that went into outburst in February 2002. After two months it reached a 2-250keV peak flux of 1 to 2x10^–8erg/cm²/s. Circumstantial evidence points to an accreting galactic black hole as the origin of the X-radiation: pulsations nor thermonuclear flashes were detected that would identify a neutron star and the spectrum was unusually hard for a neutron star at the outburst onset. We report on BeppoSAX and RXTE All Sky Monitor observations of the broad-band spectrum of XTE J1908+094. The spectrum is consistent with a model consisting of a Comptonization component by a ∼40keV plasma, a multicolor accretion disk blackbody component with a temperature just below 1keV and a broad emission line at about 6keV. The spectrum is heavily absorbed by cold interstellar matter with an equivalent hydrogen column density of 2.5x10²²cm^–2, which makes it difficult to study the black body component in detail. The black body component exhibits strong evolution about 6 weeks into the outburst. Two weeks later this is followed by a swift decay of the power law component. The broadness of the 6keV feature may be due to relativistic broadening or Compton scattering of a narrow Fe-K line.