Her X-1 shows a tentative eclipse contrast in 2026 MAXI data with a fixed orbital clock
Public MAXI data from 23 January to 14 October 2026 show a tentative eclipse phase flux contrast in Her X-1. We use a published orbital clock, approximate barycentric bin centers, and a separate flux level in each seven-day block. The 2–20 keV reference minus eclipse flux is 0.01618 photons cm^-2 s^-1. The conditional 95% interval is 0.00632 to 0.02604. The fit uses 1,914 records in 29 paired blocks. Equal weights, weekly linear trends, and longer time blocks retain a positive contrast. Removal of records near phase boundaries reduces the evidence to about two standard errors. Public Swift/BAT data do not confirm a contrast at 15–50 keV. The choices followed data inspection, so the probabilities are not blind discovery measures. This study measures the known current low state. It does not identify a unique emission site. The package preserves complete input tables, source hashes, code, figures, and reproduction instructions.
Her X-1 · Hercules X-1 · anomalous low state · MAXI · Swift BAT · orbital eclipse · cluster covariance · reproducible astronomy
References
7- usesdoi:10.1093/pasj/61.5.999
The primary measurement uses public data from the MAXI instrument.
- usesdoi:10.1051/0004-6361/200911690
Table 3 and equation 6 supply the fixed quadratic orbital clock.
- usesdoi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac496f
The earlier orbital study supplies prior context and eclipse phase limits.
- doi:10.1086/321337
- doi:10.48550/arXiv.2610.01123
- usesdoi:10.48550/arXiv.2603.20768
The published alternative quadratic orbital clock is tested as a sensitivity check.
- usesdoi:10.1088/0067-0049/209/1/14
The independent check uses public Swift/BAT transient monitor data.
Cited by
2 publicationsPublic catalog entries on Sciscape.
- Daily 4–10 keV MAXI scan comparisons with fixed phase windows leave the 2026 Her X-1 eclipse contrast uncertain
[Legacy relation: reproduces] We reproduce its weekly flux contrasts on identical coarse MAXI files. We add actual scan intervals, daily comparisons, overlapping product checks, historical controls, and a coarse-design sensitivity calculation.
- The evidence for a 1.7-day signal in March–October 2026 Her X-1 MAXI data depends on the error model
This related study measures a tentative 2026 eclipse-window contrast in overlapping public MAXI data. Its interval and fitted quantity differ from ours. The studies are not independent confirmations.