Indian Researchers Detect Accretion Stream Confirming Disk Around X-Ray Pulsar Centaurus X-3

Key facts

• Researchers at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), led by Kinjal Roy, found evidence that the X-ray pulsar Centaurus X-3 accretes material from its companion star through an accretion disk.
• The Raman Research Institute (RRI) is an autonomous institution under India's Department of Science and Technology, and the finding was announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Centaurus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary about 24,000 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, containing a highly magnetized neutron star orbiting a companion star more than 10 times the Sun's mass.
• Analysis of four secondary emission lines revealed variations indicating a rotating accretion stream flowing from the accretion disk toward the neutron star, confirming disk-fed accretion.