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SS433 and the nature of ultra-luminous X-ray sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2006

P. A. Charles ,
A. D. Barnes ,
J. Casares ,
J. S. Clark ,
R. Cornelisse ,
C. Knigge  and
D. Steeghs
P. A. Charles
Affiliation:
South African Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 9, Observatory 7935, South Africa email: pac@saao.ac.za School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
A. D. Barnes
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
J. Casares
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 – La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
J. S. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
R. Cornelisse
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 – La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
C. Knigge
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
D. Steeghs
Affiliation:
Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, MS-67, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 01238, USA
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Abstract

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The prototypical micro-quasar, SS433, one of the most bizarre objects in the Galaxy, is a weak X-ray source, yet the kinetic energy of its relativistic, precessing jets is vastly greater. In spite of its importance as the nearest example of directly observable relativistic phenomena, we know remarkably little about the nature of this binary system. There are ongoing arguments not only about the mass of the compact object, but even as to whether it is a black hole or a neutron star, an argument that recent high resolution optical spectroscopy has contributed to.

Combined with the INTEGRAL discovery of a new class of highly obscured galactic high-mass X-ray binaries, one of which has been found to precess on a similar timescale to SS433, we suggest that these would indeed be seen by external observers as ULXs, once additional effects such as beaming (either relativistic or geometrical) are included.

Keywords

Accretionaccretion disks – black hole physics – X-rays: binaries
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 2 , Symposium S238: Black Holes from Stars to Galaxies – Across the Range of Masses , August 2006 , pp. 219 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

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