UV Spectrum of the Massive X-ray Binary LS 5039

Details UV Spectrum of the Massive X-ray Binary LS 5039 UV Spectrum of the Massive X-ray Binary LS 5039

Jul 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9449g&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9449

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #9449

Scientific paper

LS 5039 is a massive X-ray binary with non-thermal radio emission, relativistic jets, and probably high energy Gamma- ray emission. It appears to be one of the closest of the Galactic microquasars, stellar-sized engines that produce relativistic jets like extragalactic quasars. We recently discovered that the system is a 4.1 day binary with a very eccentric orbit {indicating large mass loss in the supernova event that gave birth to the system}. The companion is probably a neutron star, but a black hole companion is viable if the system inclination is small. Here we propose to obtain the first UV observations of the binary to determine fundamental properties about the O6.5 V{{f}} optical star and the mass transfer process. The UV spectrophotometry will allow us to measure accurately the interstellar extinction and system distance, and the unreddened spectrum will provide information on the optical star's effective temperature, spectral classification, and surface abundances. The stellar wind lines in the FUV provide the means to measure the O- star's wind terminal velocity and mass loss rate, and these parameters will allow us to determine if the X-ray luminosity can be generated by wind accretion alone. We plan to observe these wind lines at both orbital conjunction phases to search for evidence of changes in the wind structure caused by proximity to the X-ray source's radiation field, accretion disk wind, and jets.

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