An Apparent Hard X-Ray Decline of CH Cygni

Ishida, Manabu; Mori, Hideyuki; Terada, Yukikatsu; Mukai, Koji; Soong, Yang; Kilbourne, Caroline; Chan, Kai-Wing

United States, Japan

Abstract

CH Cygni is a symbiotic star consisting of an M giant and an accreting white dwarf, which is known to be a highly variable X-ray source with a complex, two-component, spectra. Here, we report on two Suzaku observations of CH Cyg, taken in 2006 January and May, during which the system was seen to be in a soft X-ray bright, hard X-ray faint state. Based on the extraordinary strength of the 6.4keV fluorescent Fe Kα line, we show that the hard X-rays observed with Suzaku are dominated by scattering.

2007 Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Suzaku 30