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The interaction between the relativistic jets of SS433 and the interstellar medium
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1980
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Relativistic AstrophysicsPhotometryHigh ResolutionEngineeringPhysicsBlack Hole PhysicsNatural SciencesBlack HoleRelativistic PlasmaAstrophysical PlasmaPlasma PhysicsCompact ObjectRelativistic JetsSynchrotron RadiationHigh-energy AstrophysicsExplosionsAstrophysics
A sky limited, red sensitive IIIaF plate taken of the field of the W50 supernova remnant reveals two areas of nebulosity, 20 arcmin in extent, centred on SS433 (1909 + 048) and separated from each other by 70 arcmin. Red spectra at high resolution obtained with the AAT show strong evidence for excitation by low velocity (40–60 km s−1) shocks. From these data and from morphological considerations we conclude that these optical filaments are excited by the relativistic beams of SS433 and we derive, by two independent techniques, a mass loss rate in the beams of |$\sim3\times10^{-6} M_\odot \text {yr}^{-1}$|. The age of the system is about 105 yr. The data indicate supercritical accretion on to a compact object as the power source of the beams. If this compact object is a black hole it has mass in the range 2–40 M⊙ with a probable value of order 12 M⊙.