The new space observatory XRISM, which was launched not long ago by Japan, has studied the source of X-rays, Cygnus X-3. It studied the gas flows moving between the two components of this system.
XRISM examines a mysterious source of radiation
XRISM is a new space telescope launched into space not too long ago by the Japanese space agency JAXA. NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency are also involved in the project. The observatory observes the sky in the X-ray range.
The current study concerns Cygnus X-3, an extremely powerful source of hard radiation that is not easily visible in the visible range. Scientists already know that this is a binary system that consists of a compact but very massive object, obviously a black hole, and a very unusual companion star.
This second object is what makes the system so unique. It is a Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely massive and hot luminary. The intensity of its radiation is so high that it simply tears off the hydrogen layers from the surface, leaving only the helium core. All this matter forms an amazing nebula around the star.
Hidden star system
Scientists are very interested in the behavior of the gas in this interesting system. Normally, a black hole pulls it away, but there is an enormous amount of it here. The problem lies also in the fact that in the visible range, Cygnus X-3 is safely shielded from us by the large gas and dust clouds that surround the center of the Galaxy.
And that’s where XRISM comes in handy. It works in the X-ray range, in which Cygnus X-3 can be seen quite well. Moreover, it carries the Resolve spectrograph, which allows, among other things, very precise determination of the direction and velocity of gas flows.
It allowed a proper look at everything going on in this system: the gas that the star ejects from itself, and the turbulence that may be the trail of an unseen companion making its way through it.
Studies have shown that the gas is moving in the system at speeds of up to 1.5 million kilometers per hour. Some spectral features show much stronger absorption valleys than emission peaks. The team concludes that the reason for this imbalance is that the dynamics of the stellar wind allow the moving gas to absorb a wider range of energy from the X-rays ejected by the companion.
Provided by phys.org
