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Cygnus X-3 an evolutionary missing link found?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

M.H. van Kerkwijk
M.H. van Kerkwijk*
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology, Department of Astronomy, m.s. 105-24, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Abstract

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I review the properties of the X-ray source Cygnus X-3, and the evidence that is available that indicates that its companion is a Wolf-Rayet star. I focus on the interpretation of spectra of its infrared counterpart. Considering all data, I conclude that the companion is indeed a WR star, and I discuss the ramifications of this conclusion for our understanding of WR stars in general.

Keywords

stars: Wolf-Rayetclose binariesindividual: Cygnus X-3
Type
Session VIII - Hydrodynamics and high-energy physics of winds accreting on neutrons stars and black holes
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 163: Wolf-Rayet Stars: Binaries, Colliding Winds, Evolution , 1995 , pp. 527 - 537
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1995 

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