Abstract
A recent model1 for the 1011–1015 eV γ-ray emission from the 1.24-s X-ray pulsar Hercules X-l postulates coherent charged particle beams as the photon source, through a cascade process in intervening matter in the binary system HZ Her/Her X-1. This interpretation is complicated by a 1985 observation2 of ∼1012-eV γ-ray pulsations during at least the first hour of the nominal 6-h X-ray eclipse of Her X-1 by HZ Her, which would completely absorb a particle (or photon) beam propagating along or near the line of sight to Her X-1. Here we show that the presence of even a weak dipole magnetic field around the companion star is sufficient to steer such a beam to a suitable target region for producing the observed γ-rays. We demonstrate that models such as that in ref. 1 must include such effects, and we discuss the effects of such beam steering on γ-ray and neutrino observations.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Eichler, D. & Vestrand, W. T. Nature 318, 345–347 (1985).
Gorham, P. W. et al. Astrophys. J. (Letts) (in the press).
Dowthwaite, J. C. et al. Nature 309, 691–693 (1984).
Baltrusaitas, R. M. et al. Astrophys. J. 293, L69–L72 (1985).
Gorham, P. W. et al. Astrophys. J. (Letts) (in the press).
Middleditch, J. Astrophys. J. 275, 278–291 (1983).
Parmar, A. N. et al. Nature 313, 119–121 (1985).
Crosa, L. & Boynton, P. Astrophys. J. 235, 999–1015 (1980).
Eichler, D. Nature 275, 725–726 (1978).
Chanmugam, G. & Brecher, K. Nature 313, 767–768 (1985).
Vestrand, W. T. & Eichler, D. Astrophys. J. 261, 251–258 (1982).
Hillas, A. M. Nature 312, 50–51 (1984).
Lamb, F. K., Pethick, C. J. & Pines, D. Astrophys. J. 184, 271–289 (1973).
Middleditch, J. & Nelson, J. Astrophys. J. 208, 567–586 (1976).
Iben, I. Astrophys. J. 147, 650–663 (1967).
Deeter, J. E., Boynton, P. E. & Pravdo, S. H. Astrophys. J. 247, 1003–1015 (1983).
Stenger, V. J. Astrophys. J. 284, 810–816 (1984).
Berezinsky, V. Z., Castagnoli, C. & Galeotti, P. Astrophys. J. 301, 235–239 (1986).
Stecker, F. W., Harding, A. K. & Barnard, J. J. Nature 316, 418–420 (1985).
Kolb, E. W., Turner, M. S. & Walker, T. P. Phys. Rev. D 32, 1145–1151 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gorham, P., Learned, J. Companion-star beam steering of high-energy particles from Hercules X-1. Nature 323, 422–424 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323422a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323422a0
This article is cited by
-
TeV emission from close binaries
Space Science Reviews (1995)
-
Surprises in the skies
Nature (1987)
