The mean blue light curve of Cygnus X-1

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Binary Stars, Giant Stars, Light Curve, Stellar Models, X Ray Sources, Compton Effect, Gravitational Effects, Gravitational Lenses, Mass Transfer, Relativistic Particles, Stellar Magnitude

Scientific paper

A mean blue light curve accurate to 0.004 magnitude in 20 independent phases is presented for HDE 226868, the optical counterpart of Cygnus X-1. The light curve was obtained by folding four years of photometric observations with the most probable period for the system and setting phase zero at superior conjunction. Although the light curve generally exhibits a smooth variation, an unexpected feature is found near phase 0.5, where there is a brightening by about 0.012 magnitude which lasts for approximately one-tenth of the period. Possible models for the sharp feature are considered, including a hot spot, a gravitational lens, and inverse Compton scattering. It is noted that all three models are most easily acceptable if the observer is close to the orbital plane and if the angle of inclination is at least 60 deg.

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