First Detection of Phase-dependent Colliding Wind X-Ray Emission outside the Milky Way

After having reported the detection of X-rays emitted by the peculiar system HD 5980, we assess here the origin of this high-energy emission from additional X-ray observations obtained with XMM-Newton. This research provides the first detection of apparently periodic X-ray emission from hot gas produced by the collision of winds in an evolved massive binary outside the Milky Way. It also provides the first X-ray monitoring of a luminous blue variable only years after its eruption and shows that the dominant source of the X-rays is not associated with the ejecta.

Based on observations collected with XMM-Newton, an ESA Science Mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and the US (NASA).