Previous circular polarization observations obtained with the ESO FOcal Reducer low dispersion spectrograpgh at the VLT in 2007-2008 revealed the presence of a weak longitudinal magnetic field on the surface of the optical component of the X-ray binary Cyg X-1, which contains a black hole and an O9.7Iab supergiant on a 5.6 d orbit. In this contribution we report on recently acquired FORS 2 spectropolarimetric observations of Cyg X-1 along with measurements of a few additional high-mass X-ray binaries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)40-44
Number of pages5
JournalProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 1 Jan 2019

    Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Space and Planetary Science

    Research areas

  • (stars:) binaries: General, (stars:) supergiants, stars: Individual (BP Cru, Cyg X-1, Vela X-1, LS 5039), Stars: Magnetic fields, X-rays: Stars

ID: 52919727