Interaction of a high-mass X-ray binary with the interstellar medium through stellar wind. The case of GX 301-2

TL;DR

This study investigates how the high-mass X-ray binary GX 301-2 influences its surrounding interstellar medium through stellar wind interactions, estimating the energy and mass injected over its evolutionary history.

Contribution

It provides the first estimate of the mass and energy injected into the interstellar medium by GX 301-2 using multi-wavelength observational data.

Findings

Estimated mass injected into ISM: approximately 0.0305 solar masses.

Quantified the energy contribution of GX 301-2 to its environment.

Analyzed stellar wind impact using HAWK-I, Herschel, and Gaia data.

Abstract

GX 301-2 is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) with strong stellar outflows. The evolution of these binaries can be closely related with the interstellar environment due to strong wind interactions. We try to constrain the energy injected in the interstellar medium by GX 301-2 through stellar wind using HAWK-I and Herschel data. We analysed HAWK-I images in four different filters (Br$\gamma$, H$_2$, J, and Ks) and tried to retrieve signatures of the impact of GX 301-2 on its environment. We used Herschel data to outline the interstellar medium and the Gaia DR3 catalogue to infer the proper motion of GX 301-2. Finally, we estimated the energy injected in the interstellar medium since the first supernova event of the HMXB. Using both HAWK-I and Herschel images, we deduce an approximation of the total mass injected from GX~301-2 in the interstellar medium of $M_{\rm inj} = 3.05 ^{+0.05}_{-0.03} 10^{-2} M_{\odot}$.