Scientists working with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) in Sichuan Province, China, have determined that the Cygnus X-3 binary system in the constellation Cygnus is the most powerful particle accelerator known to date. This is reported by TV BRICS with reference to the Xinhua news agency. The data obtained expand our understanding of the processes of cosmic ray acceleration in our galaxy.

The Cygnus X-3 binary star is a system consisting of a black hole or neutron star and a massive companion star. The compact object actively absorbs matter from the powerful stellar wind of a neighboring star, which leads to the acceleration of particles to extremely high energies. Previously, it was believed that charged particles in the Milky Way are capable of reaching energies of the order of one petaelectronvolt. However, a detailed analysis of ultrahigh-energy gamma radiation allowed LHAASO researchers to establish that the Cygnus X-3 system is capable of accelerating cosmic rays to energies of at least 30 petaelectronvolts. In addition, the researchers recorded the frequency of an ultra-high-energy gamma signal lasting 4.8 hours. They also determined that the particle acceleration region is about three solar radii away from the radiation source. According to scientists, this discovery expands the possibilities for studying extreme physical processes occurring near compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars. The results of the observations contribute to a more accurate understanding of the mechanisms of generation of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.

The LHAASO Observatory is located at an altitude of about 4410 meters above sea level in Sichuan Province. The scientific complex covers an area of 1.36 square kilometers and is used to study cosmic rays and gamma radiation. The observatory's infrastructure allows recording broad atmospheric showers that occur when high-energy particles interact with the Earth's atmosphere, which ensures the necessary measurement accuracy for such astrophysical studies.