CH Cygni X‐Ray Jet Activity and Multicomponent Structures

In this paper we report detection of multiple component structures in aChandra X-ray image obtained in March 2001 of the nearby symbiotic interactingbinary system CH Cyg. These components include a compact central source, anarc-like structure or a loop extending to 1.5'' (400 AU) from the centralsource associated with the 1997 jet activity, and possibly a newly formed jetextending to about 150 AU from the central source. The structures are alsovisible in VLA and HST images obtained close in time to the Chandraobservations. The emission from the loop is consistent with optically thinthermal X-ray emission originating from a shock resulting from interaction ofthe jet ejecta with the dense circumbinary material. The emission from thecentral source originates within less then 50 AU region, and is likelyassociated with the accretion disk around the white dwarf. CH Cyg is only thesecond symbiotic system with jet activity detected at X-ray wavelengths, andthe Chandra high-angular resolution image, combined with the VLA and HSTimages, provides the closest view of the region of jet formation andinteraction with the circumbinary material in a symbiotic binary.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, to appear in The Astriphysical Journal, June 2007 issu