Michael D. Audley (University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742)
Ken Ebisawa (Code 660.2 and Universities Space Research Association)
& Richard L. Kelley (NASA)
Code 662, Laboratory for High Energy
Astrophysics,
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
20771 USA
We have observed the high mass X-ray binary pulsar
Centaurus X-3 with ASCA outside of eclipse.
The source was in a low state, with an average 2-10 keV luminosity of
(assuming a distance of 8 kpc).
The pulse profile was double-peaked and
varied as the intensity increased through the observation. We also observed
changes in the X-ray spectrum.
We were able to account for these changes by including a reflected component
in the continuum model. There is evidence of Comptonization of the
6.4 keV iron fluorescent line which may be due to reflection
from the accretion disk.