SS 433

Last updated
SS 433
W50 medium.jpg
SS 433 at the centre of supernova remnant W50
Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0        Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Aquila
Right ascension 19h 11m 49.56s [1]
Declination +04° 58 57.8 [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)13.0 - 17.3 [2]
Characteristics
Spectral type A7Ib
Variable type Eclipsing binary [2]
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ)RA: −3.027 [1]   mas/yr
Dec.: −4.777 [1]   mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.1182 ± 0.0233  mas [1]
Distance 18,000±700  ly
(5,500±200 [3] [4]   pc)
Orbit [5]
Period (P)13.082 d
Eccentricity (e)0.05 ± 0.01
Inclination (i)79°
Other designations
V1343 Aql, GAL 039.7-02.0, 2MASS J19114957+0458578, USNO 659, 1A 1909+04, 87GB 190920.8+045332, NEK 40.1-02.1, 3A 1909+048, GPS 1909+049, RGB J1911+049, BWE 1909+0453, GRS 039.60 -01.80, RX J1911.7+0459, 4C 04.66, 1H 1908+047, 1RXS J191149.7+045857, 2E 1909.3+0453, HBHA 204-02, AAVSO 1906+04, 2E 4204, INTEGRAL1 110, TXS 1909+048, 1ES 1909+04.8, INTREF 969, 4U 1908+05.
Database references
SIMBAD data

SS 433 is a microquasar or eclipsing X-ray binary system, consisting of a stellar-mass black hole accreting matter from an A-type companion star. [5] [6] SS 433 is the first discovered microquasar. [7] It is at the centre of the supernova remnant W50.

Contents

SS 433's designation comes from the initials of two astronomers at Case Western Reserve University: Nicholas Sanduleak and Charles Bruce Stephenson. It was the 433rd entry in their 1977 catalog of stars with strong emission lines. [7] Its emission lines were studied by Mordehai Milgrom in 1979. [8]

Location

SS 433, also known as V1343 Aquilae, located in the galactic plane (l= 39.7° and b= -2.2°), at a distance of 18,000 light-years (5.5  kpc ).

System

Artist's impression of SS 433 Ss433 art big.gif
Artist's impression of SS 433

The compact central object is consuming the companion star which rapidly loses mass into an accretion disc formed around the central object. The accretion disc is subject to extreme heating as it spirals into the primary and this heating causes the accretion disc to give off intense X-rays and opposing jets of hot hydrogen along the axis of rotation, above and below the plane of the accretion disc. The material in the jets travels at 26% of the speed of light. [9] The companion star presumably had lower mass than the original primary object and was therefore longer lived. Estimates for its mass range from 3 to 30 [10] solar masses. The primary and secondary orbit each other at a very close distance in stellar terms, with an orbital period of 13.082 days. Their orbit is very slightly eccentric, and its period is slowly increasing at a rate of about 1.0×10−7 seconds per second, or about 3 seconds per year. [5]

Observational data

A visual band light curve for SS 433, adapted from Watarai & Fukue (2010) SS433LightCurve.png
A visual band light curve for SS 433, adapted from Watarai & Fukue (2010)

The jets from the primary are emitted perpendicular to its accretion disk. The jets and disk precess around an axis inclined about 79° to a line between Earth and SS 433. The angle between the jets and the axis is around 20°, and the precessional period is around 162.5 days. [12] Precession means that the jets sometimes point more towards the Earth, and sometimes more away, producing both blue and red Doppler shifts in the observed visible spectrum. [9] Also, the precession means that the jets corkscrew through space in an expanding helical spray. [13] As they impact the surrounding W50 supernova remnant clouds, they distort it into an elongated shape. [14]

SS 433 - possible ULX ray source PIA24574-SS433-ULXray-20210709.jpg
SS 433 - possible ULX ray source

Observations in 2004 by the Very Long Baseline Array for 42 consecutive days gave new data and understanding of the action of the jets. It appears that the jets are sometimes impacting material shortly after being created and thus brightening. The material the jets are impacting appears to be replaced some of the time, but not always, leading to variations in the brightening of the jets. [15] [16]

The spectrum of SS 433 is affected not just by Doppler shifts but also by relativity: when the effects of the Doppler shift are subtracted, there is a residual redshift which corresponds to a velocity of about 12,000 kilometers per second. This does not represent an actual velocity of the system away from the Earth; rather, it is due to time dilation, which makes moving clocks appear to stationary observers to be ticking more slowly. In this case, the relativistically moving excited atoms in the jets appear to vibrate more slowly and their radiation thus appears red-shifted. [9]

In September 2018, A. U. Abeysekara et al. published in Nature details of investigations using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray (HAWC) Observatory in Mexico. They reported teraelectronvolt γ-ray observations exceeding 25TeV of the SS 433/W50 system that spatially resolve the lobes, and consistent with a single population of electrons with energies extending to at least hundreds of teraelectronvolts in a magnetic field of about 16 microgauss. [17] [18]

In SNL season 4 (1979), Father Guido Sarducci mentions SS 433. [19]

In the Seven Wonders of The World documentary series, Arthur C. Clarke mentions SS 443 as one of his "seven wonders of the universe". [20]

In his novel House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds describes a fictional star in the Andromeda galaxy as "a close cousin" to SS 433. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus X-1</span> Galactic X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus that is very likely a black hole

Cygnus X-1 (abbreviated Cyg X-1) is a galactic X-ray source in the constellation Cygnus and was the first such source widely accepted to be a black hole. It was discovered in 1965 during a rocket flight and is one of the strongest X-ray sources detectable from Earth, producing a peak X-ray flux density of 2.3×10−23 W/(m2⋅Hz) (2.3×103 jansky). It remains among the most studied astronomical objects in its class. The compact object is now estimated to have a mass about 21.2 times the mass of the Sun and has been shown to be too small to be any known kind of normal star or other likely object besides a black hole. If so, the radius of its event horizon has 300 km "as upper bound to the linear dimension of the source region" of occasional X-ray bursts lasting only for about 1 ms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-ray binary</span> Class of binary stars

X-ray binaries are a class of binary stars that are luminous in X-rays. The X-rays are produced by matter falling from one component, called the donor, to the other component, called the accretor, which is either a neutron star or black hole. The infalling matter releases gravitational potential energy, up to 30 percent of its rest mass, as X-rays. The lifetime and the mass-transfer rate in an X-ray binary depends on the evolutionary status of the donor star, the mass ratio between the stellar components, and their orbital separation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">16 Cygni</span> Multiple star in the constellation Cygnus

16 Cygni or 16 Cyg is a triple star system approximately 69 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus. It consists of two Sun-like yellow dwarf stars, 16 Cygni A and 16 Cygni B, together with a red dwarf, 16 Cygni C. In 1996 an extrasolar planet was discovered in an eccentric orbit around 16 Cygni B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrophysical jet</span> Beam of ionized matter flowing along the axis of a rotating astronomical object

An astrophysical jet is an astronomical phenomenon where outflows of ionised matter are emitted as extended beams along the axis of rotation. When this greatly accelerated matter in the beam approaches the speed of light, astrophysical jets become relativistic jets as they show effects from special relativity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18 Aquilae</span> Triple star system in the constellation Aquila

18 Aquilae is a triple star system in the constellation of Aquila. 18 Aquilae is the Flamsteed designation; it also bears the variable star designation Y Aquilae. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.07. The distance to this system can be estimated from the annual parallax shift of 6.43 mas, yielding a value of around 510 light-years away from Earth.

Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB), one of the stronger binary X-ray sources in the sky. It is often considered to be a microquasar, and it is believed to be a compact object in a binary system which is pulling in a stream of gas from an ordinary star companion. It is one of only two known HMXBs containing a Wolf–Rayet star. It is invisible visually, but can be observed at radio, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths.

The Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit is an upper bound to the mass of cold, non-rotating neutron stars, analogous to the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarf stars. Stars more massive than the TOV limit collapse into a black hole. The original calculation in 1939, which neglected complications such as nuclear forces between neutrons, placed this limit at approximately 0.7 solar masses (M). Later, more refined analyses have resulted in larger values.

Z Andromedae is a binary star system consisting of a red giant and a white dwarf. It is the prototype of a type of cataclysmic variable star known as symbiotic variable stars or simply Z Andromedae variables. The brightness of those stars vary over time, showing a quiescent, more stable phase and then an active one with a more pronounced variability and stronger brightening and/or dimming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GRS 1915+105</span> Binary system in the constellation Aquila

GRS 1915+105 or V1487 Aquilae is an X-ray binary star system containing a main sequence star and a black hole. Transfer of material from the star to the black hole generates a relativistic jet, making this a microquasar system. The jet exhibits apparent superluminal motion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WR 136</span> Star in the constellation of Cygnus

WR 136 is a Wolf–Rayet star located in the constellation Cygnus. It is in the center of the Crescent Nebula. Its age is estimated to be around 4.7 million years and it is nearing the end of its life. Within a few hundred thousand years, it is expected to explode as a supernova.

AM Canum Venaticorum is a hydrogen-deficient cataclysmic variable binary star in the constellation of Canes Venatici. It is the type star of its class of variables, the AM Canum Venaticorum stars. The system consists of a white dwarf gaining matter via an accretion disk from a semi-degenerate or white dwarf companion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4U 1700-37</span>

4U 1700-37 is one of the stronger binary X-ray sources in the sky, and is classified as a high-mass X-ray binary. It was discovered by the Uhuru satellite. The "4U" designation refers to the fourth Uhuru catalog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V404 Cygni</span> Star and black hole binary star system in the constellation Cygnus

V404 Cygni is a microquasar and a binary system in the constellation of Cygnus. It contains a black hole with a mass of about 9 M and an early K giant star companion with a mass slightly smaller than the Sun. The star and the black hole orbit each other every 6.47129 days at fairly close range. Due to their proximity and the intense gravity of the black hole, the companion star loses mass to an accretion disk around the black hole and ultimately to the black hole itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kepler-35</span> Binary star system in the constellation Cygnus

Kepler-35 is a binary star system in the constellation of Cygnus. These stars, called Kepler-35A and Kepler-35B have masses of 89% and 81% solar masses respectively, and both are assumed to be of spectral class G. They are separated by 0.176 AU, and complete an eccentric orbit around a common center of mass every 20.73 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W Serpentis</span> Variable star in the constellation Serpens

W Serpentis is an eclipsing binary star in the constellation Serpens. It is always too faint to be seen with the naked eye, varying between apparent magnitudes 8.42 and 10.2 with a period of just over 14 days. This is mainly due to eclipses; however, variations in its period indicate there are some innate changes in luminosity of one or both component stars as they interact with each other, and it has been difficult to disentangle the light to determine their nature. The period is increasing by 14 seconds a year, indicating that a massive amount of material is being transferred from the larger fainter star to the smaller brighter one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumstellar disc</span> Accumulation of matter around a star

A circumstellar disc is a torus, pancake or ring-shaped accretion disk of matter composed of gas, dust, planetesimals, asteroids, or collision fragments in orbit around a star. Around the youngest stars, they are the reservoirs of material out of which planets may form. Around mature stars, they indicate that planetesimal formation has taken place, and around white dwarfs, they indicate that planetary material survived the whole of stellar evolution. Such a disc can manifest itself in various ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XTE J1118+480</span> Star system in the constellation Ursa Major

XTE J1118+480 is a low-mass X-ray binary in the constellation Ursa Major. It is a soft X-ray transient that most likely contains a black hole and is probably a microquasar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V691 Coronae Australis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Australis

X1822–371, associated with the optically visible star V691 Coronae Australis, is a neutron-star X-ray binary system at a distance of approximately 2-2.5 kiloparsecs. It is known to have a high inclination of i = 82.5°± 1.5°. This source displays relatively high brightness in the optical wavelengths when compared to the X-ray, making it a prototypical Accretion Disk Coronae (ADC) source, i.e. a source with a corona extending above and below its accretion disk. The only-partial eclipses in its light curve, even at such a high inclination, support this hypothesis. Estimates of the mass of its neutron star lies between 1.14–2.32 solar masses. The optical spectrum of X1822–371 displays strong Hα, Hβ, He I, He II and Bowen Blend features. These features have been extensively studied using the technique of Doppler tomography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RW Aurigae</span> Young binary star system in the constellation Auriga

RW Aurigae is a young binary system in the constellation of Auriga about 530 light years away, belonging to the Taurus-Auriga association of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. RW Aurigae B was discovered in 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TX Ursae Majoris</span> Eclipsing binary star system in the constellation of Ursa Major

TX Ursae Majoris is an eclipsing binary star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. With a combined apparent visual magnitude of 6.97, the system is too faint to be readily viewed with the naked eye. The pair orbit each other with a period of 3.063 days in a circular orbit, with their orbital plane aligned close to the line of sight from the Earth. During the primary eclipse, the net brightness decreases by 1.74 magnitudes, while the secondary eclipse results in a drop of just 0.07 magnitude. TX UMa is located at a distance of approximately 780 light years from the Sun based on parallax measurements, but is drifting closer with a mean radial velocity of −13 km/s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv: 2208.00211 . Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243940 . S2CID   244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. 1 2 Samus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S. 1: B/gcvs. Bibcode:2009yCat....102025S.
  3. Blundell, Katherine M.; Bowler, Michael G. (2004). "Symmetry in the Changing Jets of SS 433 and Its True Distance from Us". The Astrophysical Journal . 616 (2): L159–L162. arXiv: astro-ph/0410456 . Bibcode:2004ApJ...616L.159B. doi:10.1086/426542. ISSN   0004-637X. S2CID   11213274.
  4. Jeffrey, Robert (2016). The remarkable outflows from the galactic microquasar SS433. ora.ox.ac.uk (DPhil thesis). University of Oxford. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.730205. Lock-green.svg
  5. 1 2 3 Cherepashchuk, A. M.; Belinski, A. A.; Dodin, A. V.; Postnov, K. A. (2021). "Discovery of orbital eccentricity and evidence for orbital period increase of SS433". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 507 (1): L19–L23. arXiv: 2107.09005 . Bibcode:2021MNRAS.507L..19C. doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slab083 .
  6. Hillwig, T. C.; Gies, D. R.; Huang, W.; McSwain, M. V.; Stark, M. A.; Van Der Meer, A.; Kaper, L. (2004). "Identification of the Mass Donor Star's Spectrum in SS 433". The Astrophysical Journal. 615 (1): 422–431. arXiv: astro-ph/0403634 . Bibcode:2004ApJ...615..422H. doi:10.1086/423927. S2CID   17930915.
  7. 1 2 SS 433, David Darling, entry in The Internet Encyclopedia of Science, accessed on line September 14, 2007.
  8. Milgrom, Mordehai (October 1979). "Thomson scattered lines in the spectrum of SS 433 - A powerful tool for studying the system". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 78 (3): L17–L20. Bibcode:1979A&A....78L..17M.
  9. 1 2 3 Margon, Bruce (1984). "Observations of SS 433". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 22 (1): 507–536. Bibcode:1984ARA&A..22..507M. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.22.090184.002451. ISSN   0066-4146.
  10. Cherepashchuk, A. M.; Sunyaev, R. A.; Fabrika, S. N.; Postnov, K. A.; Molkov, S. V.; Barsukova, E. A.; Antokhina, E. A.; Irsmambetova, T. R.; Panchenko, I. E.; Seifina, E. V.; Shakura, N. I.; Timokhin, A. N.; Bikmaev, I. F.; Sakhibullin, N. A.; Aslan, Z.; Khamitov, I.; Pramsky, A. G.; Sholukhova, O.; Gnedin, Yu. N.; Arkharov, A. A.; Larionov, V. M. (2005). "INTEGRAL observations of SS433: Results of a coordinated campaign". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 437 (2): 561–573. arXiv: astro-ph/0503352 . Bibcode:2005A&A...437..561C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041563. S2CID   119395465.
  11. Watarai, Ken-ya; Fukue, Jun (25 April 2010). "Optical Light Curves of Luminous Eclipsing Black Hole X-Ray Binaries". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 62 (2): 467–474. arXiv: 1002.3463 . doi: 10.1093/pasj/62.2.467 .
  12. Cherepashchuk, Anatol (2002). "Observational Manifestations of Precession of Accretion Disk in the SS 433 Binary System". Space Science Reviews. 102 (1): 23–35. Bibcode:2002SSRv..102...23C. doi:10.1023/a:1021356630889. S2CID   115604949.
  13. Gigantic Cosmic Corkscrew Reveals New Details About Mysterious Microquasar, press release, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, October 26, 2004, accessed on line September 14, 2007.
  14. Murata, Kenji; Shibazaki, Noriaki (1996). "Interaction of Jets with a Supernova Remnant in the SS 433/W50 System". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 48 (6): 819–825. Bibcode:1996PASJ...48..819M. doi: 10.1093/pasj/48.6.819 .
  15. VLBA "Movie" Gives Scientists New Insights On Workings of Mysterious Microquasars, press release, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, January 5, 2004. Accessed online September 14, 2007.
  16. Schillemat, K.; Mioduszewski, A.; Dhawan, V.; Rupen, M. (2004). "Exploring the Jet Proper Motions of SS433". American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts. 205: 104.01. Bibcode:2004AAS...20510401S.
  17. Abeysekara, A. U.; Albert, A.; Alfaro, R.; Alvarez, C.; Álvarez, J. D.; Arceo, R.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Avila Rojas, D.; Ayala Solares, H. A.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; Benzvi, S. Y.; Brisbois, C.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Capistrán, T.; Carramiñana, A.; Casanova, S.; Castillo, M.; Cotti, U.; Cotzomi, J.; Coutiño De León, S.; De León, C.; de la Fuente, E.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dichiara, S.; Dingus, B. L.; Duvernois, M. A.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Engel, K.; Espinoza, C.; et al. (2018). "Very-high-energy particle acceleration powered by the jets of the microquasar SS 433". Nature. 562 (7725): 82–85. arXiv: 1810.01892 . Bibcode:2018Natur.562...82A. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0565-5. PMID   30283106. S2CID   52918329.
  18. Scientists discover new nursery for superpowered photons, Space Daily, 2018-10-04
  19. Father Guido Sarducci. Weekend update. YouTube (video). Saturday Night Live. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019 via archive.org. alt.: Archived 2021-12-05 at Ghost Archive
  20. Clarke, A.C. (writer / presenter). Arthur C. Clarke: Seven Wonders of the World. YouTube (video). Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  21. Reynolds, Alastair (21 April 2020). House of Suns. Orbit. ISBN   978-0-316-46261-7.

Further reading