Other publication
The spherical expansion of the kilonova AT2017gfo/GW170817
Authors: Sneppen Albert, Watson Darach, Bauswein Andreas, Just Oliver, Kotak Rubina, Nakar Ehud, Poznanski Dovi, Sim Stuart
Conference name: American Astronomical Society Meetings
Publishing place: American Institute of Physics
Publication year: 2023
Journal: Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society
Journal name in source: Bulletin of the AAS
Volume: 55
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0002-7537
eISSN: 2330-9458
Web address : https://baas.aas.org/pub/2023n2i177p26/release/1
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387035129
X-ray polarimetry offers a unique insight into black hole X-ray binary systems that are found predominantly in the high soft (HSS) and low hard (LHS) states. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) recently observed Cygnus X-1 and Cygnus X-3 in the LHS where black hole coronal emission tends to dominate. The polarization signature of this coronal Comptonized emission can be used to constrain the geometry of the corona, its viewing angle, and the origin of soft X-ray seed photons. IXPE also observed 4U1630-47 and LMC X-1 in the HSS where the polarization of thermal emission from the optically thick accretion disk can be used to rectify the degeneracies between black hole mass, spin, and inclination. We report on the physical consequences of these first IXPE observations and the science driven by this new chapter in X-ray polarimetry.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |