Bibcode
Casella, Piergiorgio; Maccarone, Tom; Migliari, Simone; Russell, Dave
Bibliographical reference
Spitzer Proposal ID #60130
Advertised on:
4
2009
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We propose to observe Cyg X-1, an accreting black hole, and Sco X-1, an
accreting neutron star, with a 2-hour long uninterrupted exposure each
with IRAC in high time resolution modes. Their rapidly variable IR
components are likely to come from relativistic jets, and these data
will provide important insights into how these jets are powered by the
systems' accretion disks. While jets appear as a byproduct of the
accretion process, there is as yet no standard model for their
underlying physics. Several key issues are be solved, including the
geometry of jets, their energetic power and their coupling with the
disk. Multwavelength fast variability is an exciting new tool, which
will provide new informations. For the first time, we will study the
fast jet variability in great detail, opening a new promising window on
the Physics of accretion. These explorative observations will provide a
measure of the size of the emitting region, thus constraining the jet
geometry. By studying the correlated variability in mid-IR and X-rays,
we will put important constraints to the jet-disk connection. Finally,
by comparing these results between the two sources, we will cast light
on the jet energetic budget, which is thought to be different in black
holes and in neutron stars.