Abstract
The Her X-l/HZ Her system consists of a neutron star with a rotation period of 1.24 s orbiting a ‘normal’ stellar companion every 1.7 d. Variation in optical and ultraviolet magnitude is attributed to X-ray heating on the side facing the active neutron star with some contribution from X-ray heating of the disk. The system also has a 35-day period in which the X-ray emission displays so-called main and short ‘on’ states separated by relative X-ray quiescence. The 1.7-day optical flux variations continue throughout the 35-day period. No clear consensus exists as to the origin of the 35-day period; a popular interpretation is that of occultation of the compact X-ray source by a tilted, precessing, accretion disk.
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Vrtilek, S.D., Cheng, F.H. (1996). Accretion Disk Dynamics of Her X-l. In: Evans, A., Wood, J.H. (eds) Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 208. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0325-8_115
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0325-8_115
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