Cygnus X-3 revealed as a Galactic ultraluminous X-ray source by IXPE

Abstract

The accretion of matter by compact objects can be inhibited by radiation pressure if the luminosity exceeds the critical value, known as the Eddington limit. Discovery of ultraluminous X-ray sources has shown that accretion can proceed even when the apparent luminosity significantly exceeds this limit. High apparent luminosity might be produced thanks to geometric beaming of the radiation by an outflow. The outflow half-opening angle, which determines the amplification due to beaming, has never been robustly constrained. Using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, we made the measurement of X-ray polarization in the Galactic X-ray binary Cyg X-3. We find high, over 20%, nearly energy-independent linear polarization, orthogonal to the direction of the radio ejections. These properties unambiguously indicate the presence of a collimating outflow in the X-ray binary Cyg~X-3 and constrain its half-opening angle, <15 degrees. Thus, the source can be used as a laboratory for studying the super-critical accretion regime. This finding underscores the importance of X-ray polarimetry in advancing our understanding of accreting sources.

52 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables. Author version of the article published in Nature Astronomy

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• Mildly Super-Eddington Accretion Onto Slowly-Spinning Black Holes Explains the X-Ray Weakness of the Little Red Dots
• X-ray polarization from accretion disk winds
• Studying geometry of the ultraluminous X-ray pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 using X-ray and optical polarimetry
• Variability of X-ray polarization of Cyg X-1
• Galactic transient sources with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory
• X-ray spectropolarimetric characterization of the Z-source GX 340+0 in the normal branch
• Wolf-Rayet -- compact object binaries as progenitors of binary compact objects
• Orbital variability of polarized X-ray radiation reflected from a companion star in X-ray binaries
• Modeling reflection spectra of super-Eddington X-ray sources
• IXPE view of the Sco-like source GX 349+2 in the normal branch
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• Decoding Cygnus X-2: The Critical Role of Reflection in IXPE Data
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• Birthplaces of X-ray emission lines in Cygnus X-3
• Relativistic Scattering in the Funnel of Cygnus X-3
• Extreme Transients in Gamma Rays