A new interpretation of the remarkable X-ray spectrum of the symbiotic star CH Cyg |
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| Authors: | Peter J Wheatley Timothy R Kallman |
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| Institution: | Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL;Laboratory for High-Energy Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA |
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| Abstract: | We have re-analysed the ASCA X-ray spectrum of the bright symbiotic star CH Cyg, which exhibits apparently distinct hard and soft X-ray components. Our analysis demonstrates that the soft X-ray emission can be interpreted as scattering of the hard X-ray component in a photoionized medium surrounding the white dwarf. This is in contrast to previous analyses in which the soft X-ray emission was fitted separately and assumed to arise independently of the hard X-ray component. We note the striking similarity between the X-ray spectra of CH Cyg and Seyfert 2 galaxies, which are also believed to exhibit scattering in a photoionized medium. |
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| Keywords: | accretion accretion discs binaries: symbiotic stars: individual: CH Cyg white dwarfs stars: winds outflows X-rays: binaries |
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