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The Optical Counterpart of NGC 1313 X-1

We identify the optical counterpart of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 1313 X-1 and discuss constraints on its physical nature from multiband optical spectra. There is a single object on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images within the aspect-corrected Chandra X-ray error circle; a fainter, possibly extended, feature lies near the edge of the error circle. The brighter object showed prominent variation in the F555W band, but was constant in the F814W band. The spectrum was consistent with a single power-law on 2003 Nov 17, but deviated from this on 2004 Jul 17, suggestive of more than one emission component. Based on the location, magnitudes, spectral shape, and variability of the bright object, it is likely the ULX counterpart. The red wing of the spectrum around F814W may be due to emission from the companion star, and the blue wing is likely from disk emission. The stellar population around X-1 has an age older than 30 Myr, without very blue stars or young clusters. This places a constraint on the companion mass of the ULX as no more than 10 solar masses.