arXiv subjects

Boris T. Gaensicke

Publications and source records attributed to Boris T. Gaensicke.

81 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

The Effect of a Superoutburst on the White Dwarf and Disk of VW Hydri as observed with FUSE

We have used FUSE to obtain thirteen observations of the dwarf nova VW Hyi covering the period from the end of a superoutburst through the following normal outburst of the system. Here, we present the quiescent spectra. They contain at least three components. The dominant component is the white dwarf (WD), which cools following the superoutburst. The amount of cooling depends somewhat on the WD models used. For log g of 8.0, the temperature drops from 24,000K just after the outburst to 20,000 K just before the normal outburst. For this model, and a distance of 65 pc, the WD radius is ~8 x 10**8 cm and v sin(i) is ~420 km/s. The fact that the derived radius is smaller than expected for a WD with log g=8 suggests a higher gravity WD or that VW Hyi is somewhat further than 65 pc. Either is possible given the current distance uncertainty of +-20 pc. Earlier suggestions that the WD photosphere shows evidence of CNO processed material are confirmed, but our analysis also shows that issues remain in terms of analyzing the spectra of WDs in such unusual physical situations. The second component is relatively featureless and shows modulation on the orbital (and just after outburst, the superhump) period. It is likely associated with the hot spot where material from the secondary encounters the disk, rather than the boundary layer region between the inner disk and WD. The second component fades ~10 days after the superoutburst. There is also a third component, clearly visible in broad emission lines of C III 977, N III 991, Lyman Beta and O VI 1032,1038, which appears to be accompanied by a flat continuum. The strength of the emission lines, which are almost surely associated with the accretion disk, appear relatively constant throughout the observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2008

Cataclysmic Variable Primary Effective Temperatures: Constraints on Binary Angular Momentum Loss

We review the most decisive currently available measurements of the surface effective temperatures, Teff, of white dwarf (WD) primaries in cataclysmic variables (CVs) during accretion quiescence, and use these as a diagnostic for their time averaged accretion rate, . Using time-dependent calculations of the WD envelope, we investigate the sensitivity of the quiescent Teff to long term variations in the accretion rate. We find that the quiescent Teff provides one of the best available tests of predictions for the angular momentum loss and resultant mass transfer rates which govern the evolution of CVs. While gravitational radiation is sufficient to explain the of strongly magnetic CVs at all Porb, faster angular momentum loss is required by the temperatures of dwarf nova primaries (non-magnetic systems). This provides evidence that a normal stellar magnetic field structure near the secondary is essential for the enhanced braking mechanism to work, supporting the well-known stellar wind braking hypothesis. The contrast in is most prominent for orbital periods Porb > 3 hours, above the period gap, but a modest enhancement is also present at shorter Porb. The averaging time which reflects is as much as 10^5 years for low- systems and as little as 10^3 years for high- systems. We discuss the security of conclusions drawn about the CV population in light of these time scales and our necessarily incomplete sample of systems. Measurements for non-magnetic systems above the period gap fall below predictions from traditional stellar wind braking prescriptions, but above more recent predictions with somewhat weaker angular momentum loss. We also discuss the apparently high Teff's found in the VY Scl stars. (abridged)

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arXiv2008

IPHAS discoveries of young stars towards Cyg OB2 and its southern periphery

We report on the discovery of over 50 strong Halpha emitting objects towards the large OB association Cyg OB2 and the HII region DR 15 on its southern periphery. This was achieved using the INT Photometric Halpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), combined with follow-up spectroscopy using the MMT multi-object spectrometer HectoSpec. We present optical spectra, supplemented with optical r', i' and Halpha photometry from IPHAS, and near-infrared J, H, and K photometry from 2MASS. The position of the objects in the (J - H) versus (H - K) diagram strongly suggests most of them are young. Many show CaII IR triplet emission indicating that they are in a pre-main sequence phase of evolution of T Tauri and Herbig Ae nature. Among these, we have uncovered pronounced clustering of T Tauri stars roughly a degree south of the centre of Cyg OB2, in an arc close to the HII region DR 15, and the radio ring nebula G79.29+0.46, for which we discuss its candidacy as a luminous blue variable (LBV). The emission line objects toward Cyg OB2 itself could be the brightest most prominent component of a population of lower mass pre-main sequence stars that has yet to be uncovered. Finally, we discuss the nature of the ongoing star formation in Cyg OB2 and the possibility that the central OB stars have triggered star formation in the periphery.

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arXiv2006

HST and Optical Observations of Three Pulsating Accreting White Dwarfs in Cataclysmic Variables

Ultraviolet observations using the Solar Blind Channel on the Hubble Space Telescope provide light curves and low resolution spectra of three pulsating white dwarfs in the cataclysmic variables SDSS013132.39-090122.3, SDSSJ161033.64-010223.3 and SDSSJ220553.98+115553.7. The UV light curves show enhanced pulsation amplitudes over those from simultaneous and previous optical photometry, while the UV-optical spectra are fit with white dwarf temperatures near 15,000K. These temperatures place the accreting white dwarfs outside the instability zone for non-interacting DAV white dwarfs and show that the instability strip is complex for accreting white dwarfs.

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arXiv2006

A brown dwarf mass donor in an accreting binary

A long standing and unverified prediction of binary star evolution theory is the existence of a population of white dwarfs accreting from sub-stellar donor stars. Such systems ought to be common, but the difficulty of finding them, combined with the challenge of detecting the donor against the light from accretion means that no donor star to date has a measured mass below the hydrogen burning limit. Here we apply a technique which allows us to reliably measure the mass of the unseen donor star in eclipsing systems. We are able to identify a brown dwarf donor star, with a mass of 0.052+/-0.002 Msun. The relatively high mass of the donor star for its orbital period suggests that current evolutionary models may underestimate the radii of brown dwarfs.

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arXiv2004

Time-Resolved Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of the SW Sex Star DW UMa: Confirmation of a Hidden White Dwarf and the UV Counterpart to Phase 0.5 Absorption Events

We present time-resolved, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy of the SW Sex star DW UMa in the high state. We confirm that, shortward of 1500 Å, the high-state, UV continuum level is lower than the white dwarf (WD)-dominated low-state level. We also do not see the WD contact phases in the high state eclipse light curves. These results confirm our earlier finding that the WD in this system is hidden from view in the high state. Based on this, we caution that eclipse mapping of high-inclination SW Sex stars in the high state may yield incorrect or misleading results. In the context of DW UMa, we demonstrate explicitly that distance estimates obtained by recent eclipse mapping studies cannot be reconciled with the WD-dominated low-state spectrum. We also show that the fluxes of the UV emission lines in the high state drop near orbital phase 0.5. This is the first detection of a UV counterpart to the class-defining phase 0.5 absorption seen in the optical emission lines of SW Sex stars.

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arXiv2003

WZ Sge: HST Spectroscopy of the Cooling of the White Dwarf after the 2001 Outburst

Following an outburst in 2001 July, the UV flux of WZ Sge has declined slowly toward pre-outburst levels. Here, we describe new 1150-1710 Angstrom HST/STIS spectra of WZ Sge obtained between 2002 April and 2003 March to follow the decline. A combined analysis of these and spectra obtained in the fall of 2001 show that if log g=8.5, then the white dwarf temperature decreased from 23,400 K in 2001 October, shortly after the steady decline of the system began, to 15,900 K 17 months later. The UV flux in 2003 March was still 2.4 times higher than measured prior to the outburst and so the system was still recovering from the outburst. During this period, the shape of the spectrum and the flux from the system are consistent with a log g=8.5, 0.9 solar mass white dwarf at the astrometrically-determined distance to WZ Sge. Although the spectrum from 2001 September resembles that of a white dwarf with a temperature of 28,200 K, the implied radius is smaller than in the remainder of the observations. If the entire white dwarf was visible in 2001 September, then either a second component, such as the disk emission, was distorting the spectrum, or more likely, the temperature on the white dwarf photosphere was not uniform then. The metal lines in the spectra of WZ Sge have weakened with time. Model fits that allow for material along the line of sight to the white dwarf photosphere are substantial improvements over models which assume all the lines arise from the photosphere. This obviates the need to explain very unusual abundance ratios in the photosphere and complicates the determination of the rotation rate of the white dwarf.

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arXiv2001

Properties of a spectroscopically selected CV sample

We have initiated a dedicated search for new CVs, selecting candidates on the base of their spectroscopic properties in the Hamburg Quasar Survey (HQS), which lead up to now to the identification of 50 new CVs and a dozen good candidates. Using the HQS data of the previously known CVs for extensive tests of our selection scheme, we demonstrate that our survey should be very efficient in finding short period systems as long as they have emission lines with equivalent widths >=10 A. So far, orbital periods have been measured for 15 of the new CVs, with the surprising result that only two systems lie at or below the lower boundary of the period gap. This - somewhat preliminary - result is in uncomfortable disagreement with the predictions of the standard scenario of CV evolution.

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arXiv1998

Observing the Accretion Stream in Polars

We have developed a 3D computer model of polars which includes the accretion stream, the accretion column, the secondary star, and the white dwarf. Each component is represented by a fine grid of surface elements. With brightness values attributed to each surface element, this model generates synthetic light curves of the various components. As a first application, we present our simulated light curves of the accretion stream, fitted to high-speed HST spectroscopy of the eclipsing polar UZ Fornacis by the means of an evolution strategy.

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