Bibcode
DOI
Shahbaz, T.; Fender, R. P.; Watson, C. A.; O'Brien, K.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 672, Issue 1, pp. 510-515.
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1
2008
Journal
Citations
36
Refereed citations
26
Description
We present near-infrared linear spectropolarimetry of a sample of
persistent X-ray binaries, Sco X-1, Cyg X-2, and GRS 1915+105. The
slopes of the spectra are shallower than what is expected from a
standard steady state accretion disk, and can be explained if the
near-infrared flux contains a contribution from an optically thin jet.
For the neutron star systems, Sco X-1 and Cyg X-2, the polarization
levels at 2.4 μm are 1.3%+/-0.10% and 5.4%+/-0.7%, respectively,
which is greater than the polarization level at 1.65 μm. This cannot
be explained by interstellar polarization or electron scattering in the
anisotropic environment of the accretion flow. We propose that the most
likely explanation is that this is the polarimetric signature of
synchrotron emission arising from close to the base of the jets in these
systems. In the black hole system GRS 1915+105 the observed
polarization, although high (5.0%+/-1.2% at 2.4 μm), may be
consistent with interstellar polarization. For Sco X-1 the position
angle of the radio jet on the sky is approximately perpendicular to the
near-infrared position angle (electric vector), suggesting that the
magnetic field is aligned with the jet. These observations may be a
first step toward probing the ordering, alignment, and variability of
the outflow magnetic field in a region closer to the central accreting
object than is observed in the radio band.
Related projects
Black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs and their local environment
Accreting black-holes and neutron stars in X-ray binaries provide an ideal laboratory for exploring the physics of compact objects, yielding not only confirmation of the existence of stellar mass black holes via dynamical mass measurements, but also the best opportunity for probing high-gravity environments and the physics of accretion; the most
Montserrat
Armas Padilla