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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2006
We present the first high resolution optical spectrum of the black hole candidate BG Geminorum, as well as UV spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope, and X-ray data from INTEGRAL. The UV spectra suggest the presence of material in BG Gem with velocities possibly as high as ∼1000 km s−1, suggesting an origin at a distance of ∼0.7 R⊙ from a 3.5 M⊙ object; if real, this would be strong evidence that the primary in BG Gem is indeed a black hole. In contrast, the upper limit provided by the INTEGRAL data gives a maximum X-ray luminosity of only ∼0.1 of the Eddington luminosity.