Cygnus X-3's Little Friend

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a celestial X-ray mirror near Cygnus X-3, identified as a Bok globule, using Chandra's imaging, revealing new insights into the microquasar's environment.

Contribution

First identification of a Bok globule acting as an X-ray mirror near Cygnus X-3 using Chandra observations.

Findings

The feature varies with Cygnus X-3's flux and orbital phase.

The scatterer is a Bok globule along our line of sight.

This is the first such feature identified with Chandra.

Abstract

Using the unique X-ray imaging capabilities of the Chandra observatory, a 2006 observation of Cygnus X-3 has provided insight into a singular feature associated with this well-known microquasar. This extended emission, located ~16 arcseconds from Cygnus X-3, varies in flux and orbital phase (shifted by 0.56 in phase) with Cygnus X-3, acting like a celestial X-ray "mirror". The feature's spectrum, flux and time variations allow us to determine the location, size, density, and mass of the scatterer. We find that the scatterer is a Bok globule located along our line of sight, and discuss its relationship to Cygnus X-3. This is the first time such a feature has been identified with the Chandra X-ray Observatory.