Photoelectric observations of Krzeminski's star, the companion of Cen X-3

Centaurus X-3 was the first discovered X-ray source whose intensity is pulsed and eclipsed. Though the X-ray properties of the Cen X-3 system have been intensively studied, the optical properties remained unstudied until Krzeminski's identification of the optical counterpart of Cen X-3. Observations of the X-ray eclipse duration, pulsation frequency variation, and pulse arrival time variation have been used to place limits on the nature of the system and to predict the nature of the optical companion and X-ray sources. An observational determination is presented of the several system parameters based on a preliminary interpretation of the light curve of Krzeminski's star.