The Period Change of Cyg X-3
Abstract
By using available archival X-ray data, we significantly extended the list of times of X-ray minima. The new list includes 65 data points obtained by critically reanalyzing RXTE ASM data, 88 data points based on observations by MAXI, and 2 data points based on observations by SUZAKU and AstroSat. Analyzing the data along with times of X-ray minima available from the literature, we provide the most accurate estimate of the rate of period change to date. We do not confirm the existence of a second derivative of the orbital period suggested by some authors earlier. Instead, we find that the changes in the period can be fit by a sum of quadratic and sinusoidal functions. The period of sinusoidal variations is 15.79 yr. They can be related either to apsidal motion in the close binary with eccentricity e ≃ 0.03 or to the presence of a third body with a mass of about 0.7 M ⊙ located at a distance ∼16 au from the close binary.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- February 2019
- DOI:
- 10.3847/1538-4357/aafb38
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1807.00817
- Bibcode:
- 2019ApJ...871..244A
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- binaries: close;
- stars: individual: Cyg X-3;
- X-rays: binaries;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Submitted to ApJ. 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables