Cygnus X-3 revealed as a Galactic ultraluminous X-ray source by IXPE

Journal
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Veledina, Alexandra
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Poutanen, Juri
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Podgorný, Jakub
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Dovčiak, Michal
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Churazov, Eugene
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Forsblom, Sofia V.
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Kaaret, Philip
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O'Dell, Stephen L.
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Omodei, Nicola
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Oppedisano, Chiara
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Pavlov, George G.
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Peirson, Abel L.
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Pesce-Rollins, Melissa
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Petrucci, Pierre-Olivier
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Krawczynski, Henric
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Puccetti, Simonetta
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Ramsey, Brian D.
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Roberts, Oliver
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Romani, Roger W.
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Sgrò, Carmelo
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Slane, Patrick
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Spandre, Gloria
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Swartz, Doug
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Tamagawa, Toru
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Taverna, Roberto
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Tawara, Yuzuru
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Tennant, Allyn F.
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Thomas, Nicholas E.
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Turolla, Roberto
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Vink, Jacco
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Zane, Silvia
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Loktev, Vladislav
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Lutovinov, Alexander A.
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Molkov, Sergey V.
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Mushtukov, Alexander A.
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Rodriguez Cavero, Nicole
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Steiner, James F.
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Sunyaev, Rashid A.
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Tsygankov, Sergey S.
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Weisskopf, Martin C.
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Zdziarski, Andrzej A.
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Bianchi, Stefano
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Bright, Joe S.
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Bursov, Nikolaj
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Garcia, Javier A.
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Green, David A.
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Gurwell, Mark
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Ingram, Adam
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Kajava, Jari J. E.
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Kale, Ruta
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Kraus, Alex
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Malyshev, Denys
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Marin, Frédéric
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McCollough, Michael
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Mereminskiy, Ilya A.
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Nizhelsky, Nikolaj
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Rao, Ramprasad
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Shevchenko, Anton
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Svoboda, Jiri
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Trushkin, Sergei A.
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Tsybulev, Peter
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Wu, Kinwah
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Agudo, Iván
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Baldini, Luca
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Baumgartner, Wayne H.
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Bellazzini, Ronaldo
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Bongiorno, Stephen D.
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Bonino, Raffaella
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Brez, Alessandro
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Castellano, Simone
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Cavazzuti, Elisabetta
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Chen, Chien-Ting
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Ciprini, Stefano
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Di Gesu, Laura
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Di Lalla, Niccolò
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Donnarumma, Immacolata
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Doroshenko, Victor
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Ehlert, Steven R.
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Enoto, Teruaki
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Gunji, Shuichi
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Hayashida, Kiyoshi
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Heyl, Jeremy
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Iwakiri, Wataru
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Jorstad, Svetlana G.
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Karas, Vladimir
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Kislat, Fabian
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Kitaguchi, Takao
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Kolodziejczak, Jeffery J.
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Latronico, Luca
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Liodakis, Ioannis
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Maldera, Simone
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Manfreda, Alberto
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Marinucci, Andrea
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Marscher, Alan P.
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Marshall, Herman L.
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Mitsuishi, Ikuyuki
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Mizuno, Tsunefumi
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Negro, Michela
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Ng, Chi-Yung
DOI
Abstract
The accretion of matter by compact objects can be inhibited by radiation pressure if the luminosity exceeds a critical value known as the Eddington limit. The discovery of ultraluminous X-ray sources has shown that accretion can proceed even when the apparent luminosity considerably exceeds this limit. A high apparent luminosity might be produced due to the geometric beaming of radiation by an outflow. The outflow half-opening angle, which determines the amplification due to beaming, has never been robustly constrained. Using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, we measured the X-ray polarization in the Galactic X-ray binary Cygnus X-3 (Cyg X-3). We found high, >20%, nearly energy-independent linear polarization orthogonal to the direction of the radio ejections. These properties unambiguously indicate the presence of a collimating outflow from the X-ray binary Cyg X-3 and constrain its half-opening angle to ≲15°. Thus, the source can be used as a laboratory for studying the supercritical accretion regime. This finding underscores the importance of X-ray polarimetry in advancing our understanding of accreting sources.
Volume
8
Issue
8
Start page
1031
Uri
Url
Issn Identifier
2397-3366
Ads BibCode
2024NatAs...8.1031V
Rights
open.access
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