Black holes and neutron stars, which both exert extreme gravitational force, can pull gas away from a neighboring star. This transfer of gas onto the black hole or neutron star, called accretion, often produces X-ray light as the gas is accelerated by gravity to very high speeds. Through a mechanism still poorly understood, jets of matter can shoot away from the polar regions of neutron stars or perpendicularly from the direction of accretion onto black holes. It is not known whether the central object in SNR W50 is a binary system containing a black hole or one containing a neutron star. The combination of particle jets trapped within the bubble of the supernova remnant is likely common, for the star that explodes to form a supernova remnant leaves behind a neutron star or black hole as its core.
Thermal radiation is produced solely by heat, for example, from the hot gas of the star explosion.
The supernova remnant itself emits thermal radiation. Non-thermal radiation results from particle interactions, such as electrons or protons running into walls of gas. An artist's concept of the RXTE satellite. Rather, the remnant is being distorted by the action of the jets on the SNR shell, producing strong shock waves and radiating in higher X-ray energies. The observation also provides the first hint of cosmic ray acceleration in a supernova remnant powered by a jet.