[Previous] | [Session 25] | [Next]
D.A. Liedahl (LLNL), M. Sako, F. Paerels (Columbia), M.L. McCollough (USRA), R.F. Elsner (NASA/MSFC), N.S. Schulz (MIT), D.H. Cohen (Swarthmore)
The X-ray binary Cyg X-3 was observed with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating when the X-ray source was in a high state. We report the detection of several spectral features exhibiting P Cygni profiles, observed throughout the 4.8 hr orbital period. The absorption features have equivalent widths of a few tens of milli-Angstroms and average blueshifts corresponding to 900 km/s. The emission components of the P Cygni features are dominated by recombination in X-ray photoionized gas. Results from analyses of the spectra are discussed in the context of a model of Cyg X-3 in which a compact X-ray source irradiates a dense stellar wind from a massive Wolf-Rayet companion star.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: duane@virgo.llnl.gov