Krawczynski, H;
Muleri, F;
Dovčiak, M;
Veledina, A;
Rodriguez Cavero, N;
Svoboda, J;
Ingram, A;
... Zane, S; + view all
(2022)
Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1.
Science
, 378
(6620)
pp. 650-654.
10.1126/science.add5399.
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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.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Polarized x-rays constrain the disk-jet geometry in the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.add5399 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/science.add5399 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10159163 |
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