Title: Is there any evidence for a massive black hole in Cyg X-3
Abstract: There has been a recent suggestion that Cyg X-3 contains a black hole (BH) of mass M1∼17M⊙. This interpretation is closely linked to a previous claim that Cyg X-3 contains a Wolf-Rayet star of mass M2∼10M⊙. The latter interpretation would imply that the X-ray source in this close binary (P=4.8 hr) is enshrouded by a relatively cool superstrong wind with Ṁ⩾10−5 M⊙ yr−1. It can be shown that such a wind would be completely opaque to the low energy X-rays observed from the source and hence the Wolf-Rayet hypothesis can not be a correct one. By pursuing the same argument it also follows that the compact object must be of modest mass ruling out the existence of a massive BH in Cyg X-3. And a more probable scenario for Cyg X-3 would be one where the compact object is a canonical neutron star (NS) and the companion is an extremely low mass dwarf, M2∼10−2 M⊙ much like PSR1957+20.
Publication Year: 1997
Publication Date: 1997-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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