Cygnus X-1 contains a 21-solar mass black hole-Implications for massive star winds.
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
ISSN: 1095-9203
Titre abrégé: Science
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0404511
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
05 03 2021
05 03 2021
Historique:
received:
18
02
2020
accepted:
23
12
2020
pubmed:
20
2
2021
medline:
20
2
2021
entrez:
19
2
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The evolution of massive stars is influenced by the mass lost to stellar winds over their lifetimes. These winds limit the masses of the stellar remnants (such as black holes) that the stars ultimately produce. We used radio astrometry to refine the distance to the black hole x-ray binary Cygnus X-1, which we found to be [Formula: see text] kiloparsecs. When combined with archival optical data, this implies a black hole mass of 21.2 ± 2.2 solar masses, which is higher than previous measurements. The formation of such a high-mass black hole in a high-metallicity system (within the Milky Way) constrains wind mass loss from massive stars.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33602863
pii: science.abb3363
doi: 10.1126/science.abb3363
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1046-1049Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.