Spectral energy distribution, radio maps and polarization of Cygnus X-1: a lepto- hadronic model

Abstract

The microquasar Cygnus X-1 is one of the most studied astrophysical sources. Several radiative models for the non-thermal broadband emission of Cygnus X-1 are available. For the jet emission in particular, only leptonic models have been considered despite the observational evidence of the presence of hadrons in the jets of other microquasars. In this work, we present an inhomogeneous, lepto-hadronic jet model for the non-thermal broadband emission of Cygnus X-1. We calculate the contribution to the spectrum of both relativistic electrons and protons, taking into account their interaction with the magnetic field, matter and photon fields internal and external to the jet. We obtain best-fit models for the spectrum that reproduce the observations from radio to gamma rays, including the MeV tail whose origin is still disputed. We also produce synthetic radio maps of the jet and compare them to actual interferometric observations of the source. Finally, we present preliminary results for the degree of polarization of the jet radiation in the MeV band.