USING THE X-RAY DUST SCATTERING HALO OF CYGNUS X-1 TO DETERMINE DISTANCE AND DUST DISTRIBUTIONS
Xiang J, Lee JC, Nowak MA, Wilms J (2011)
Publication Status: Published
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2011
Journal
Publisher: IOP PUBLISHING LTD
Book Volume: 738
Article Number: ARTN 78
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/738/1/78
Abstract
We present a detailed study of the X-ray dust scattering halo of the black hole candidate Cygnus X-1 based on two Chandra High Energy Transmission Gratings Spectrometer observations. Using 18 different dust models, including one modified by us (eponymously dubbed XLNW), we probe the interstellar medium between us and this source. A consistent description of the cloud properties along the line of sight (LOS) that describes at the same time the halo radial profile, the halo light curves, and the column density from source spectroscopy is best achieved with a small subset of these models. Combining the studies of the halo radial profile and the halo light curves, we favor a geometric distance to Cygnus X-1 of d = 1.81 +/- 0.09 kpc. Our study also shows that there is a dense cloud, which contributes similar to 50% of the dust grains along the LOS to Cygnus X-1, located at similar to 1.6 kpc from us. The remainder of the dust along the LOS is close to the black hole binary.
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APA:
Xiang, J., Lee, J.C., Nowak, M.A., & Wilms, J. (2011). USING THE X-RAY DUST SCATTERING HALO OF CYGNUS X-1 TO DETERMINE DISTANCE AND DUST DISTRIBUTIONS. Astrophysical Journal, 738(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/738/1/78
MLA:
Xiang, Jingen, et al. "USING THE X-RAY DUST SCATTERING HALO OF CYGNUS X-1 TO DETERMINE DISTANCE AND DUST DISTRIBUTIONS." Astrophysical Journal 738.1 (2011).
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