The radio counterpart of the likely TeV binary HESS J0632+057

The few known γ-ray binary systems are all associated with variable radio and X-ray emission. The TeV source HESS J0632+057, apparently associated with the Be star MWC 148, is plausibly a new member of this class. Following the identification of a variable X-ray counterpart to the TeV source we conducted Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and Very Large Array (VLA) observations in 2008 June–September to search for the radio counterpart of this object. A point-like radio source at the position of the star is detected in both 1280-MHz GMRT and 5-GHz VLA observations, with an average spectral index, α, of ∼0.6. In the VLA data there is significant flux variability on ∼month time-scales around the mean flux density of ≈0.3 mJy. These radio properties (and the overall spectral energy distribution) are consistent with an interpretation of HESS J0632+057 as a lower power analogue of the established γ-ray binary systems.