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HZ Her/Her X-1 is one of the most popular low-mass X-ray binary
star systems, which consists of a neutron star (Her X-1) and a
post-main-sequence star (HZ Her). Her X-1 is one of the first two
founding members of the accretion-powered X-ray pulsars class. Due
to its large luminosity and low interstellar absorption Her X-1
remains one of the most studied pulsars. The system is
characterized by a great wealth of phenomena including 1.24 s
regular X-ray pulsations, 1.7-day orbital period eclipses, a
superorbital X-ray intensity cycle of 35 days, and a large number
of highly variable X-ray absorption events coined light-curve dips
by Riccardo Giacconi, one of the 2002 Physics Nobel Prize laureates
and founder of X-ray Astronomy. Unlike the periodic X-ray flux
modulations, the light-curve dips are not well understood despite
more than 30 years of intense research work. We present here the
largest and most recent record of Her X-1's light-curve dips, and
propose a theoretical model that reproduces the timing of any of
the observed light-curve dips. The model is based on a single dip
production mechanism and explains most dip properties, including
the famous marching dip effect.
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