What are the Composition and Power of the Jet in Cyg X-1?
arXiv:2207.07864 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac81bf
Abstract
We calculate the electron-positron pair production rate at the base of the jet of Cyg X-1 by collisions of photons from its hot accretion flow using the measurement of its average soft gamma-ray spectra by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and INTEGRAL satellites. We have found that this rate approximately equals the flow rate of the leptons emitting the observed synchrotron radio-to-IR spectrum of the jet, calculated using an extended jet model following that of Blandford \& Koenigl. This coincidence shows the jet composition is likely to be pair-dominated. The same coincidences were found before in the microquasar MAXI J1820+070 and in the radio galaxy 3C 120, which shows that the considered mechanism can be universal for at least some classes of relativistic jets. Furthermore, we recalculate the jet power of Cyg X-1. The presence of pairs can strongly reduces the power in the bulk motion of ions, which then limits the parameter space at which the jet can power the 5-pc nebular structure present in its vicinity.
ApJL, in press
References in corpus (14)
- Cygnus X-1 contains a 21-solar mass black hole -- implications for massive star winds
- Variable TeV emission as a manifestation of jet formation in M87?
- The jet-powered optical nebula of Cygnus X-1
- Jet contributions to the broad-band spectrum of Cyg X-1 in the hard state
- Scenarios for ultrafast gamma-ray variability in AGN
- Radio Frequency Timing Analysis of the Compact Jet in the Black Hole X-ray Binary Cygnus X-1
- The power and production efficiency of blazar jets
- Prospects for differentiating extended coronal geometries in AGNs with the IXPE mission
- Shell-Shocked: The Interstellar Medium Near Cygnus X-1
- Jet radio emission in Cygnus X-1 and its orbital modulation
- Hybrid Comptonization and Electron-Positron Pair Production in the Black-Hole X-Ray Binary MAXI J1820+070
- Global Simulations of the Interaction of Microquasar Jets with a Stellar Wind in High-Mass X-ray Binaries
- The Composition and Power of the Jet of the Broad-Line Radio Galaxy 3C 120
- On the significance of relativistically hot pairs in the jets of FR II radio galaxies