AstroSat detects polarised high-energy X-rays from black hole for the first time

Category : Science and Tech Published on: February 09 2024

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India's space visual instrument AstroSat has recently successfully measured X-ray polarization from Cygnus X-1 black depth, a preliminary achievement in black hole studies.
Normal X-ray measurements capture just energy or intensity, while polarization characteristics provide details about the geometry and properties of the black hole.
The measurements were carried out with the Boron Sync Telluride Imager (CJDTI) onboard AstroSat, which is one of the five scientific instruments onboard AstroSat.
The data takes scientists closer to understanding the mechanism of radiation production in black hole sources.
This study links the hard X-ray radiation in Cygnus X-1 to a black hole jet, which is an open question in astronomy.
Polarization is a property carried by a photon that provides information about the close expansion of a black hole.
Measuring X-ray wavelengths is a difficult task, but it provides valuable information.
AstroSat, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in September 2015, is a potential study of this unique one.
Cygnus X-1, discovered four decades ago, is one of the first localized black hole systems in our planet.
This black hole, twenty times heavier than the Sun, is in a binary system with a superprobe star, forming a thin arrival disk.