Kinematically Resolving the Fe K Complex in Her X-1: The Accretion Disk and Ionized Wind Across X-ray Eclipses

arXiv:2608.05719 · astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.SR · Submitted 2026-08-06 · Read on arXiv

Koh Sakamoto, Teruaki Enoto, Peter Kosec, Takeshi GO Tsuru, Takuto Narita, Daijiro Hitotsuyanagi, Laura Brenneman, Ruediger Staubert, Jon M. Miller, Andrew Fabian, Daniele Rogantini

astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.SR

Submitted: 2026-08-06

Comments: 12 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: We present XRISM/Resolve spectroscopy of Her X-1 across three X-ray eclipses observed in September 2024, resolving its iron K complex through the ingress, mid-eclipse, and egress phases.

Terminology

Abstract

We present XRISM/Resolve spectroscopy of Her X-1 across three X-ray eclipses observed in September 2024, resolving its iron K complex through the ingress, mid-eclipse, and egress phases. The 5 eV high energy resolution of Resolve enabled us to disentangle and detect all primary components of the iron K complex: neutral iron fluorescence (Fe K alpha and K beta), highly ionized emission lines (Fe XXV He alpha and Fe XXVI Ly alpha). The neutral Fe K alpha emission is not significantly detected during mid-eclipse, indicating a compact origin near the neutron star. At ingress and egress, the line centroid exhibits red- and blue-shifts of about 200 km s-1 after correcting for the systemic velocity and the neutron star's orbital motion. This residual shift corresponds to Keplerian rotation at a characteristic radius of r disk about 6.6 times10 6 km, suggesting an association with the outer accretion disk. In contrast, the highly ionized Fe XXV He alpha and Fe XXVI Ly alpha lines remain visible during eclipses, indicating an extended origin. Photoionization modeling (SPEX pion model) yields 10(xi/ erg,cm,s-1) about 3.4 and N H about 3.1 times10 22 cm-2 consistent with the ionized disk wind of Her X-1. Flux-ratio diagnostics constrain the geometric inner boundary of the clumpy disk wind to R in = 3+5-2 times 10 10 cm (1 sigma), consistent with the Compton-heated thermal winds. The inferred mass outflow rate is out about 3.2 times 10-9,M yr-1 (half the supplied mass), consistent with absorption line measurements of the disk wind obtained out of eclipse.

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