Cygnus X-3 produces variable gamma rays up to 3.7 PeV, consistent with photomeson production in its relativistic jet requiring protons accelerated to tens of PeV.
A One-sided, Highly Relativistic Jet from Cygnus X-3
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abstract
Very Long Baseline Array images of the X-ray binary, Cygnus X-3, were obtained 2, 4 and 7 days after the peak of a 10 Jy flare on 4 February 1997. The first two images show a curved one-sided jet, the third a scatter-broadened disc, presumably at the position of the core. The jet curvature changes from the first to the second epoch, which strongly suggests a precessing jet. The ratio of the flux density in the approaching to that in the (undetected) receding jet is > 330; if this asymmetry is due to Doppler boosting, the implied jet speed is > 0.81c. Precessing jet model fits, together with the assumptions that the jet is intrinsically symmetric and was ejected during or after the major flare, yield the following constraints: the jet inclination to the line of sight must be < 14 degrees; the cone opening angle must be < 12 degrees; and the precession period must be > 60 days.
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Cygnus X-3: A variable petaelectronvolt gamma-ray source
Cygnus X-3 produces variable gamma rays up to 3.7 PeV, consistent with photomeson production in its relativistic jet requiring protons accelerated to tens of PeV.