Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 1978
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1978a%26a....65l...1m&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 65, no. 1, Apr. 1978, p. L1-L4. Research supported by the United States-Israel Binational Scie
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
18
Binary Stars, Optical Polarization, Stellar Motions, X Ray Sources, X Ray Stars, Angles (Geometry), Light Scattering, Orbit Perturbation, Photosphere, Stellar Atmospheres
Scientific paper
The recent observations of the orbital variations of the optical polarization in Cyg X-1 are examined. It is shown that the value of the inclination angle, i, cannot be determined from the data without assuming a detailed model for the mechanism which produces the polarization. The value of i of about 76 degrees which was suggested on the basis of preliminary analysis is not, in fact, implied by the data. The data is consistent with a geometry which is mirror symmetric about the plane which is perpendicular to the orbital plane and contains the centers of the stars. The suppression of the U-band variations is interpreted as a photospheric effect. The larger Balmer opacity for most of the photons in the U-band reduces their chances of scattering in the photosphere and hence their polarization is smaller.
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