Discovery of dense absorbing clouds in Cygnus X-2
Abstract
We report results of several day-long observation of Cygnus X-2 using Chandra and XMM-Newton. The source displayed extensive dipping events in the lightcurve often seen before in the source and causing an additional track in the hardness-intensity Z-track diagram. For the first time we are able to investigate these events using both high efficiency CCD continuum spectra and highly-resolved grating data. In the XMM PN instrument, the dips are 30% deep and resemble those in the low mass X-ray binary dip sources. However, remarkably, in the Chandra HEG and MEG no absorption or edge features can be seen corresponding to expected increases of column density in excess of the interstellar column. Non-dip and dip PN spectra are fitted well with a model containing point-like blackbody emission which we associate with the neutron star plus Comptonized emission of the ADC which must be extended. Dipping can be explained without absorption of the blackbody emission, but by covering 40% of the extended ADC emission by dense absorber. In the covered fraction almost no flux remains and so no significant additional optical depths appear in the neutral K edges in the grating spectra. The dipping appears not to be explicable by absorption in the outer disk, but requires large, dense blobs of absorber that do not overlap the neutron star in the line-of-sight. The nature of these blobs is unknown.
- Publication:
-
38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010cosp...38.2411B