Eclipsing and Precessional Light Curves of SS 433 with Superdisks

Abstract

We theoretically calculated light curves of SS 433 during eclipse and precession, under a picture in which SS 433 consists of a geometrically thick superdisk around a compact star and a companion star filling its Roche lobe. The main parameters are the binary mass ratio, the relative thickness of the superdisk, and the surface temperature of the companion. Combinations of eclipsing and precessional light curves impose constraints on the parameter ranges. The favorite values of the parameters are a mass ratio of about 1 to 1.5 (a compact star is a black hole), a relative disk-thickness of about 25°, and a companion surface-temperature of 14000-20000 K