Cygnus X-1—a Spectroscopic Binary with a Heavy Companion ?

Webster, B. Louise; Murdin, Paul

doi:10.1038/235037a0

Cited by 444 publications

(180 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…A rocket borne X-ray detector, launched in 1964, discovered the persistently bright X-ray source Cygnus X-1 [35]. Its exact nature was not clear, however, until its optical identification with the O-type star HDE 226868 [36][37][38]. Based upon measurements of the optical companion's orbital parameters, mass estimates for the compact object have ranged from 8 − 16 M , with recent estimates placing the mass at approximately 10 M [9][10][11][12].…”

Section: The Identification Of Galactic Black Hole Candidates (Gbhcs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

2003

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Section: The Identification Of Galactic Black Hole Candidates (Gbhcs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

2003

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“…An improved X-ray source location from Uhuru and an MIT rocket flight (Rappaport et al 1971) led to the discovery of a weak transient radio source by Braes and Miley (1971) from Leiden Observatory, and independently by Hjellming and Wade (1971) at the NRAO, which subsequent Uhuru analysis showed to coincide with a change in the X-ray appearance. The greatly improved source position (figure 4) finally allowed the optical identification of 'Cyg X-1 -a Spectroscopic Binary with a Heavy companion' by Webster and Murdin (1972), at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and Bolton (1972), at the David Dunlap Observatory in Toronto. The 'heavy' companion was HDE 226868, a supergiant star at some 2 kpc distance.…”

Section: Cygnus X-1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for Black Holes in Space

Pounds

2013

Space Sci Rev

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Although General Relativity had provided the physical basis of black holes, evidence for their existence had to await the Space Era when X-ray observations first directed the attention of astronomers to the unusual binary stars Cygnus X-1 and A0620-00. Subsequently, a number of faint Ariel 5 and Uhuru X-ray sources, mainly at high Galactic latitude, were found to lie close to bright Seyfert galaxies, suggesting the nuclear activity in AGN might also be driven by accretion in the strong gravity of a black hole. Detection of rapid X-ray variability with EXOSAT later confirmed that the accreting object in AGN was almost certainly a supermassive black hole.

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“…In our galaxy, we are aware of twenty of these objects, located thousands of light-years away from us. One of them provided the first direct evidence for the existence of black holes: Cygnus X-1 (Bolton, 1972;Webster & Murdin, 1972).…”

Section: Monographmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interstellar travel guide: Chronicles of a violent universe

Perucho

Font

2016

Mètode

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In contrast to observations from our local viewpoint, the universe is extremely violent. Explosions of massive stars, X-ray and gamma-ray binary stars, and active galaxies are related to the presence of compact objects such as neutron stars or black holes. Processes such as matter accretion or the formation and release of relativistic plasma jets are responsible for the generation of large amounts of high-energy radiation, caused by the acceleration of elementary particles, and have a significant impact in their surroundings. Moreover, they are related to the generation of gravitational waves: vibrations in spacetime produced by the acceleration of compact massive objects that produce strong curvatures. These systems are studied within the framework of the general and special relativity theories. In this article, we summarise several of the most well-known astrophysical scenarios, and offer a brief description of what we currently know about them.

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Cygnus X-1—a Spectroscopic Binary with a Heavy Companion ?

Cited by 444 publications

References 9 publications

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

Fluorescent iron lines as a probe of astrophysical black hole systems

Searching for Black Holes in Space

Interstellar travel guide: Chronicles of a violent universe

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