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Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1
- Source :
- Science, Volume 378, Issue 6620, pp. 650-654 (2022)
- 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. The observations reveal that hot x-ray emitting plasma is spatially extended in a plane perpendicular to the jet axis, not parallel to the jet.<br />Comment: 51 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Journal :
- Science, Volume 378, Issue 6620, pp. 650-654 (2022)
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.2206.09972
- Document Type :
- Working Paper
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add5399