dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (01/31/86)
The 24 January issue of SCIENCE has a fascinating article on weird
terrestrial events associated with an astronomical x-ray source in the
constellation Cygnus, the swan (sometimes called the Northern Cross).
Cygnus X-3, some 37,000 light years away, is one of the the most
luminous objects in our galaxy. Long interesting to astronomers, it
has recently attracted the attention of particle physicists thanks to
some evidence it may be showering earth with a hitherto totally unknown
kind of particle.
Proton-decay experiments at various locations (principally at the
Soudan Mine in Minnesota) have turned up anamolous muon showers
possibly associated with Cygnus X-3. Not only do they seem to be
coming from the right direction, they are in phase with the object's
radio and x-ray emissions (which have a 4.79 hour period presumed due
to Cygnus X-3's being part of an eclipsing binary). Unfortunately, the
numbers are too small to be completely convincing.
If the showers are really connected with Cygnus, something odd is going
on. The directionality and synchronization with the photon pulses
point to an uncharged (so it isn't diverted by the galactic magnetic
field), speed-of-light (so it can stay in phase) particle. Most
candidates are way too short-lived (the muons are themselves, and so
presumably they are secondary particles). Neutrinos are ruled out by
the fact that the particles don't seem to penetrate the Earth. We know
how many photons there are and it isn't enough (by two orders of
magnitude). So is the phenomenon real or bogus?
Recently an air-shower detector atop the Haleakala volcano on Maui has
produced new evidence. Designed to detect Cherenkov radiation from
particles hittin the upper atmosphere, it saw (on 12 October) a
spectacular shower from Cygnus X-3 lasting a full minute. (A typical
cosmic ray shower lasts a nanosecond.)
If these observations turn out to be true, they could be very important.
It has been suggested that the Cygnus X-3 pulsar is not a neutron star
but rather a large lump of quark matter 10 km across. Quark matter
would only be possible if a large number of strange quarks are
present. (Strange quarks contribute stability; that's why they're
called "strange," in fact.)
It's possible the muon showers are caused by hypothetical di-lambda (or
H) particles proposed by Robert Jaffe of MIT in 1977. This particle is
made of two up quarks, two downs, and two stranges. If it turns out to
be the culprit, it is still probably not what Cygnus X-3 is emitting.
Suggestions are that chunks of quark matter are being knocked off the
pulsar and are producing Hs in the atmosphere of its companion.
All this is fascinating but speculation nonetheless. For more details
see Science or Phys. Lett. v160B p181 (1985) or Nature v317 p409
(1985).
--
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706
(919) 684-3695
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