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Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1.
- Source :
-
Science (New York, N.Y.) [Science] 2022 Nov 11; Vol. 378 (6620), pp. 650-654. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Nov 03. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- A black hole x-ray binary (XRB) system forms when gas is stripped from a normal star and accretes onto a black hole, which heats the gas sufficiently to emit x-rays. We report a polarimetric observation of the XRB Cygnus X-1 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. The electric field position angle aligns with the outflowing jet, indicating that the jet is launched from the inner x-ray-emitting region. The polarization degree is 4.01 ± 0.20% at 2 to 8 kiloelectronvolts, implying that the accretion disk is viewed closer to edge-on than the binary orbit. These observations reveal that hot x-ray-emitting plasma is spatially extended in a plane perpendicular to, not parallel to, the jet axis.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1095-9203
- Volume :
- 378
- Issue :
- 6620
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Science (New York, N.Y.)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36356134
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add5399