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Infrared helium emission lines from Cygnus X-3 suggesting a Wolf-Rayet star companion

Nature volume 355, pages 703–705 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

CYGNUS X-3 is one of the most luminous X-ray sources in the Galaxy1,2, a bright infrared source3 and a radio source that undergoes huge outbursts4. The system is a binary, presumably a neutron star plus companion, with a 4.79-h orbital period that modulates the X-ray and infrared emission5,6 and that increases on a 600,000-year timescale7,8. Radio observations reveal the presence of a relativistic jet9. The nature of Cyg X-3 has remained unclear, however, in part because the large interstellar extinction3 in its direction prevents optical spectroscopy. Upper limits on spectral features in the near infrared have been reported previously10, but only with recent instrumental improvements have we become able to identify spectral features in the near infrared I and K bands. These are found to be characteristic of Wolf–Rayet stars: strong, broad emission lines of HeI and HeII, but no strong hydrogen lines. These observations strongly suggest the presence of a dense wind in the Cyg X-3 system, and may indicate that the companion is a fairly massive helium star, as had been predicted11 by a model in which the present system is a descendant of a massive X-ray binary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronomical Institute "Anton Pannekoek", University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. H. van Kerkwijk, E. P. J. van den Heuvel, M. vander Klis & J. van Paradijs

  2. Center for High-Energy Astrophysics, Kruislaan 409, 1098 SL, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. H. van Kerkwijk, L. A. Molnar, E. P. J. van den Heuvel, M. vander Klis & J. van Paradijs

  3. Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA

    M. H. van Kerkwijk & E. P. J. van den Heuvel

  4. Royal Grenwich Observatory, Apartado 321, 38780, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Tenerife, Canary Islands

    P. A. Charles & D. L. King

  5. Department of Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics Building, Keble Road, Oxford, 0X1 3RH, UK

    P. A. Charles

  6. Joint Astronomy Centre, 665 Komohana Street, Hilo, Hawaii, 96720, USA

    T. R. Geballe

  7. Sterrewacht, Niels Bohrweg 2, PO Box 9513, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    G. K. Miley

  8. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, USA

    L. A. Molnar

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  1. M. H. van Kerkwijk
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van Kerkwijk, M., Charles, P., Geballe, T. et al. Infrared helium emission lines from Cygnus X-3 suggesting a Wolf-Rayet star companion. Nature 355, 703–705 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/355703a0

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