High Polarization and Complex Accretion Wind Structure in 4U 1700−37

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ID: 317181
2026
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Abstract
Abstract We present a spectro-polarimetric analysis of the wind-accreting high-mass X-ray binary 4U 1700−37 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). Using the hardness–intensity diagram (HID), we divide the observations into three states: a high-soft state (HR 1), a medium state (HR 2), and a low-hard state (HR 3). HR 1 and HR 3 exhibit high polarization degree (PD) values of 9.6 ± 1.5 % and 22.4 ± 4.3 %, respectively, while HR 2 exhibits a lower PD of 7.2 ± 1.6 %. Using a phenomenological triple power-law model further reveals a highly polarized, unobscured component in HR 1 (PD = 41.5 ± 12.3 %), which may originate from the polar region of the neutron star. The wind-reprocessed components in HR 1 and HR 3 both show PD exceeding 15 %, which may arise from the superposition or interaction of disk-wind scattering and neutron star radiation whose polarization direction is aligned with it, or be related to symmetry breaking. The decline in PD in HR 2, together with the 30○–40○ differences in polarization angle (PA) between states, may imply the disruption of a transient disk and a transition in accretion mode. In addition, the 99 % confidence upper limit on PD during the mid-eclipse phase is ~10 %, lower than the predictions from simple stellar wind models, indicating a more complex wind geometry.
Reference Key
openalex_W7164513412 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Wai Ling Wu, Fei Xie, Fabio La Monaca
Journal monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stag1109
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1109
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