X-ray observations of LMC X-3 with the monitor counter aboard the HEAO 2 Einstein Observatory : a comparison with Cygnus X-1.
Abstract
A comparison is presented of the black hole candidates LMC X-3 and Cygnus X-1 based on Einstein observations of LMC X-3 with the monitor proportional counter. A spectral analysis shows LMC X-3 to be more like the typical bright galactic X-ray source than Cygnus X-1. A search for periodic pulsations over a period range from 0.2 ms to over 1000 s set upper limits at the 90 percent confidence level of the order of 10 percent. An analysis of the aperiodic variability of LMC X-3 shows none of the shot noise behavior characteristic of Cygnus X-1. The absence of distinctive X-ray properties common to both sources suggests that the identification of black hole candidates on the basis of X-ray properties similar to Cygnus X-1 (or LMC X-3) is not reliable.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- November 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1086/184152
- Bibcode:
- 1983ApJ...274L..65W
- Keywords:
-
- Black Holes (Astronomy);
- Spaceborne Astronomy;
- X Ray Astronomy;
- Heao 2;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Proportional Counters;
- Spectrum Analysis;
- Astrophysics