PARSEC-SCALE BIPOLAR X-RAY SHOCKS PRODUCED BY POWERFUL JETS FROM THE NEUTRON STAR CIRCINUS X-1

Abstract

We report the discovery of multi-scale X-ray jets from the accreting neutron star X-ray binary, Circinus X-1. The bipolar outflows show wide opening angles and are spatially coincident with the radio jets seen in new high-resolution radio images of the region. The morphology of the emission regions suggests that the jets from Circinus X-1 are running into a terminal shock with the interstellar medium, as is seen in powerful radio galaxies. This and other observations indicate that the jets have a wide opening angle, suggesting that the jets are either not very well collimated or precessing. We interpret the spectra from the shocks as cooled synchrotron emission and derive a cooling age of ~1600 yr. This allows us to constrain the jet power to be 3 × 10[superscript 35] erg s[superscript -1] ⋦ P jet ⋦ 2 × 10[superscript 37] erg s[superscript -1], making this one of a few microquasars with a direct measurement of its jet power and the only known microquasar that exhibits stationary large-scale X-ray emission.