The XRISM/Resolve view of the Fe K region of Cyg X-3

Abstract

The X-ray binary system Cygnus X-3 (4U 2030+40, V1521 Cyg) is luminous but enigmatic owing to the high intervening absorption. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy uniquely probes the dynamics of the photoionized gas in the system. In this paper we report on an observation of Cyg X-3 with the XRISM/Resolve spectrometer which provides unprecedented spectral resolution and sensitivity in the 2-10 keV band. We detect multiple kinematic and ionization components in absorption and emission, whose superposition leads to complex line profiles, including strong P-Cygni profiles on resonance lines. The prominent Fe XXV Heα and Fe XXVI Lyα emission complexes are clearly resolved into their characteristic fine structure transitions. Self-consistent photoionization modeling allows us to disentangle the absorption and emission components and measure the Doppler velocity of these components as a function of binary orbital phase. We find a significantly higher velocity amplitude for the emission lines than for the absorption lines. The absorption lines generally appear blueshifted by ∼−500-600km s⁻¹. We show that the wind decomposes naturally into a relatively smooth and large scale component, perhaps originating with the background wind itself, plus a turbulent more dense structure located close to the compact object in its orbit.