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LMC X-1
Star in the constellation Dorado From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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LMC X-1 is the first X-ray source detected in the Large Magellanic Cloud.[4] It was discovered in 1969, using data from an instrument carried by a Sandia Terrier-Sandhawk sounding rocket, launched from the Johnston Atoll on October 29, 1968.[5][6] LMC X-1 is a persistently luminous X-ray binary.[4]
In the 80s Hutchings et al. performed spectroscopic follow-up observations of the optical counterpart and found an orbital period of about 4 days and a secondary mass of about 6 M☉, making the secondary a stellar mass black hole.[7][8] The orbital period later turned out to be shorter at around 3.9 days.[9] The optical counterpart is also called "star 32". The black hole has a mass of around 11 M☉ and the star has a mass of around 32 M☉ and a radius of 17 R☉. With this radius the star nearly fills its Roche lobe and it is predicted that it will encounter its Roche lobe in a few hundred thousand years. Once it reaches its Roche lobe, it will begin rapid and possibly unstable mass transfer to its companion.[4]
The X-ray source is surrounded by a nebula, which is the only nebula energized by an X-ray binary. It is suspected that the nebula is a bow shock nebula. The nebula is also detected in radio wavelengths with ATCA imaging. A possible origin of LMC X-1 is the star cluster [NKN2005] N159-O1. Other possible origins are NGC 2077, NGC 2080, NGC 2085 and NGC 2086. In the scenario of N159-O1 being the origin, the progenitor to the black hole would have a mass of about 60 M☉, meaning it was the most massive member of this star cluster.[2]
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