Modeling the SS 433 Jet Bends

TL;DR

This paper analyzes Chandra X-ray data of SS 433, revealing jet dynamics, environmental interactions, and emission characteristics, providing insights into jet cooling and shock processes in this unique binary system.

Contribution

It presents detailed spectral modeling of SS 433's jets, linking X-ray and optical emissions, and tests jet cooling models based on emission measure distributions.

Findings

Jet Doppler shifts show aperiodic variations likely due to shocks.

X-ray and optical emission regions are related but not coincident.

The spectrum reveals plasma at various temperatures, useful for jet cooling models.

Abstract

We fit Chandra HETGS data obtained for the unusual X-ray binary SS 433. While line strengths and continuum levels hardly change, the jet Doppler shifts show aperiodic variations that probably result from shocks in interactions with the local environment. The X-ray and optical emission line regions are found to be related but not coincident as the optical line emission persists for days while the X-ray emission lines fade in less than 5000 s. The X-ray spectrum of the blue-shifted jet shows over two dozen emission lines from plasma at a variety of temperatures. The emission measure distribution derived from the spectrum can be used to test jet cooling models.