Raman Research Institute finds the X-ray pulsar Centaurus X-3 feeding through an accretion disk

21 October 2026

Scientists of the Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology, have found that the X-ray pulsar Centaurus X-3 gathers material through an accretion disk.
The study, announced on 21 October 2026, was led by RRI researcher Kinjal Roy, who examined four secondary emission lines.
The structure causing the variable lines co-rotates with the pulsar and was identified as the accretion stream.
An accretion disk is rare in high-mass X-ray binaries, where material is usually captured directly from the stellar wind.
Centaurus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary whose companion is more than 10 times the Sun's mass; it lies 24000 light years away and was one of the first X-ray pulsars discovered.