Ionization Cone in the X-ray Binary LMC X-1

Abstract

In an earlier paper, we presented the first evidence for a bow-shock nebula surrounding the X-ray binary LMC X-1 on a scale of ~15 pc, which we argued was powered by a jet associated with an accretion disk. We now present the first evidence for an ionization cone extending from an X-ray binary, a phenomenon only seen to date in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The ionization cone, detected in the HeII4686/Hbeta and [OIII]5007/Hbeta line ratio maps, aligns with the direction of the jet inferred from the bow-shock nebula. The cone has an opening angle ~45 deg and radial extent ~3.8 pc. Since the HeII emission cannot be explained by the companion O star, the gas in the ionization cone must be exposed to the `naked' accretion disk, thereby allowing us to place constraints on the unobservable ionizing spectrum. The energetics of the ionization cone give unambiguous evidence for an "ultraviolet - soft X-ray" (XUV) excess in LMC X-1. Any attempt to match the hard X-ray spectrum (>1keV) with a conventional model of the accretion disk fails to account for this XUV component. We propose two likely sources for the observed anisotropy: (1) obscuration by a dusty torus, or (2) a jet-blown hole in a surrounding envelope of circumstellar absorbing material. We discuss the implications of our discovery in the context of the mass-scaling hypothesis for accretion onto black holes and suggest avenues for future research.

4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

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• A Broad Iron Line in LMC X-1
• Super-Eddington Accretion in the Ultraluminous X-ray Source NGC1313 X-2: An Ephemeral Feast
• LMC X-1: A New Spectral Analysis of the O-star in the binary and surrounding nebula
• New observations of ULX supershells, and their implications
• Simulations of neutrino and gamma-ray production from relativistic black-hole microquasar jets
• Jet propulsion of wind ejecta from a major flare in the black hole microquasar SS433
• Optical spectroscopy of 4U 1812-12: an ultra-compact X-ray binary seen through an H II region