Summary
ABSTRACT New X-ray polarization results are challenging our understanding of the accretion flow geometry in black hole binary systems. Even spectra dominated by a standard disc can give unexpected results, such as the high-inclination black hole binary 4U 1630−472, where the observed X-ray polarization is much higher than predicted. This system also shows a strong, highly ionized wind, consistent with thermal-radiative driving from the outer disc, leading to speculation that scattering in the wind is responsible for the unexpectedly high polarization degree from a standard optically thick disc. Here, we show that this is not the case. The optically thin(ish) wind polarizes the scattered light in a direction orthogonal to that predicted from a standard optically thick disc, reducing about 2
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