ORIGIN OF PEV GAMMA-RAYS FROM CYGNUS-X-3

It was suggested earlier by Schlickeiser (1989) that the observed PeV gamma rays from Cyg X-3 arise from Compton scattering of X-rays by high-energy electrons (gamma approximately 10(10)) provided by the central neutron star. It is shown here that the density of high-energy electrons required can be reduced by two orders of magnitude if optical photons are used instead of X-rays. However, the electrons may not attain the required energy, if the observed infrared photons arise from a cocoon around the neutron star, and one has to look for another process to account for the PeV gamma rays.