Chandra X-ray spectroscopy of the focused wind in the Cygnus X-1 system. I. The non-dip spectrum in the low/hard state

TL;DR

This study analyzes Chandra X-ray spectra of Cygnus X-1 in its low/hard state, revealing details of the stellar wind and accretion processes through high-resolution spectroscopy and plasma diagnostics.

Contribution

First detailed non-dip X-ray spectrum analysis of Cygnus X-1's wind in the low/hard state using Chandra HETGS, linking wind ionization to accretion.

Findings

Detection of absorption edges from neutral O, Ne, Fe

Identification of two plasma components with distinct velocities and densities

Evidence that large parts of the wind are fully ionized outside the focused stream

Abstract

We present analyses of a 50 ks observation of the supergiant X-ray binary system Cygnus X-1/HDE 226868 taken with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). Cyg X-1 was in its spectrally hard state and the observation was performed during superior conjunction of the black hole, allowing for the spectroscopic analysis of the accreted stellar wind along the line of sight. A significant part of the observation covers X-ray dips as commonly observed for Cyg X-1 at this orbital phase, however, here we only analyze the high count rate non-dip spectrum. The full 0.5-10 keV continuum can be described by a single model consisting of a disk, a narrow and a relativistically broadened Fe Kalpha line, and a power law component, which is consistent with simultaneous RXTE broad band data. We detect absorption edges from overabundant neutral O, Ne and Fe, and absorption line series from highly ionized ions and infer column densities and Doppler shifts. With emission lines of He-like Mg XI, we detect two plasma components with velocities and densities consistent with the base of the spherical wind and a focused wind. A simple simulation of the photoionization zone suggests that large parts of the spherical wind outside of the focused stream are completely ionized, which is consistent with the low velocities (<200 km/s) observed in the absorption lines, as the position of absorbers in a spherical wind at low projected velocity is well constrained. Our observations provide input for models that couple the wind activity of HDE 226868 to the properties of the accretion flow onto the black hole.