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The dominant X-ray wind in massive star binaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

Julian M. Pittard  and
Ian R. Stevens
Julian M. Pittard
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Ian R. Stevens
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Abstract

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We investigate which shocked wind is responsible for the majority of the X-ray emission in colliding wind binaries, an issue where there is some confusion in the literature, and which we show is more complicated than has been assumed. We find that where both winds rapidly cool (typically close binaries), the ratio of the wind speeds is often more important than the momentum ratio, because it controls the energy flux ratio, and the faster wind is generally the dominant emitter. When both winds are largely adiabatic (typically long-period binaries), the slower and denser wind will cool faster and the stronger wind generally dominates the X-ray luminosity.

Type
Part 1. Atmospheres of Massive Stars
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 212: A Massive Star Odyssey: From Main Sequence to Supernova , 2003 , pp. 220 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2003 

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