arXiv subjects

Cynthia S. Froning

Publications and source records attributed to Cynthia S. Froning.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Metal Depletion and Warm H2 in the Brown Dwarf 2M1207 Accretion Disk

We present new far-ultraviolet observations of the young M8 brown dwarf 2MASS J12073346-3932539, which is surrounded by an accretion disk. The data were obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Moderate resolution spectra (R~17,000-18,000) obtained in the 1150-1750 A and 2770-2830 A bandpasses reveal H2 emission excited by HI Ly$α$ photons, several ionization states of carbon (CI - CIV), and hot gas emission lines of HeII and NV (T ~ 10^4-5 K). Emission from some species that would be found in a typical thermal plasma at this temperature (SiII, SiIII, SiIV, and MgII) are not detected. The non-detections indicate that these refractory elements are depleted into grains, and that accretion shocks dominate the production of the hot gas observed on 2MASS J12073346-3932539. We use the observed CIV luminosity to constrain the mass accretion rate in this system. We use the kinematically broadened H2 profile to confirm that the majority of the molecular emission arises in the disk, measure the radius of the inner hole of the disk (R_{hole}~3R_{*}), and constrain the physical conditions of the warm molecular phase of the disk (T(H2)~2500-4000 K). A second, most likely unresolved H2 component is identified. This feature is either near the stellar surface in the region of the accretion shock or in a molecular outflow, although the possibility that this Jovian-like emission arises on the day-side disk of a 6 M_{J} companion (2M1207b) cannot be conclusively ruled out. In general, we find that this young brown dwarf disk system is a low-mass analog to classical T Tauri stars that are observed to produce H2 emission from a warm layer in their disks, such as the well studied TW Hya and DF Tau systems.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

Searching for Far-Ultraviolet Auroral/Dayglow Emission from HD209458b

We present recent observations from the HST-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aimed at characterizing the auroral emission from the extrasolar planet HD209458b. We obtained medium-resolution (R~18-20,000) far-ultraviolet (1150-1700A) spectra at both the Phase 0.25 and Phase 0.75 quadrature positions as well as a stellar baseline measurement at secondary eclipse. This analysis includes a catalog of stellar emission lines and a star-subtracted spectrum of the planet. We present an emission model for planetary H2 emission, and compare this model to the planetary spectrum. No unambiguously identifiable atomic or molecular features are detected, and upper limits are presented for auroral/dayglow line strengths. An orbital velocity cross-correlation analysis finds a statistically significant (3.8 sigma) feature at +15 (+/- 20) km/s in the rest frame of the planet, at 1582 A. This feature is consistent with emission from H2 B-X (2-9) P(4) (lambda_{rest} = 1581.11 A), however the physical mechanism required to excite this transition is unclear. We compare limits on relative line strengths seen in the exoplanet spectrum with models of ultraviolet fluorescence to constrain the atmospheric column density of neutral hydrogen between the star and the planetary surface. These results support models of short period extrasolar giant planets with weak magnetic fields and extended atomic atmospheres.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

The Inclination of the Soft X-ray Transient A0620--00 and the Mass of its Black Hole

We analyze photometry of the Soft X-ray Transient A0620-00 spanning nearly 30 years, including previously published and previously unpublished data. Previous attempts to determine the inclination of A0620 using subsets of these data have yielded a wide range of measured values of i. Differences in the measured value of i have been due to changes in the shape of the light curve and uncertainty regarding the contamination from the disk. We give a new technique for estimating the disk fraction and find that disk light is significant in all light curves, even in the infrared. We also find that all changes in the shape and normalization of the light curve originate in a variable disk component. After accounting for this disk component, we find that all the data, including light curves of significantly different shapes, point to a consistent value of i. Combining results from many separate data sets, we find i=51 plus or minus 0.9 degrees, implying M=6.6 plus or minus 0.25 solar masses. Using our dynamical model and zero-disk stellar VIH magnitudes, we find d=1.06 plus or minus 0.12 kpc. Understanding the disk origin of non-ellipsoidal variability may assist with making reliable determinations of i in other systems, and the fluctuations in disk light may provide a new observational tool for understanding the three-dimensional structure of the accretion disk.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Observations of the Chemical Composition of LMC N132D

We present new far-ultraviolet spectra of an oxygen-rich knot in the Large Magellanic Cloud supernova remnant N132D, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Moderate resolution (v~200 km/s) spectra in the HST far-ultraviolet bandpass (1150 - 1750 A) show emission from several ionization states of oxygen as well as trace amounts of other species. We use the improvements in sensitivity and resolving power offered by COS to separate contributions from different velocity components within the remnant, as well as emission from different species within the oxygen-rich knot itself. This is the first time that compositional and velocity structure in the ultraviolet emission lines from N132D has been resolved, and we use this to assess the chemical composition of the remnant. No nitrogen is detected in N132D and multiple carbon species are found at velocities inconsistent with the main oxygen component. We find helium and silicon to be associated with the oxygen-rich knot, and use the reddening-corrected line strengths of OIII], OIV], OV, and SiIV to constrain the composition and physical characteristics of this oxygen-rich knot. We find that models with a silicon-to-oxygen abundance ratio of N(Si)/N(O) = 0.01 can reproduce the observed emission for a shock velocity of ~130 km/s, implying a mass of ~50 solar masses for the N132D progenitor star.

astro-ph.CO↗

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

IR Contamination in Galactic X-Ray Novae

The most widely used means of measuring the mass of black holes in Galactic binaries - specifically the X-ray novae - involves both radial velocity measurements of the secondary star, and photometric measurements of its ellipsoidal variability. The latter is important in constraining the inclination and mass ratio, and requires as direct a measure of the flux of the secondary as possible. Up to now, such measurements have been preferentially carried out in the NIR (1 -- 2.5$μm$), where the flux from the cooler secondary is expected to dominate over that from the accretion disc. However, here we present evidence of a significant non-stellar contribution to the NIR flux in many of those quiescent X-ray novae that are thought to contain a black hole primary. We discuss origins of this excess and the effect of such contamination on Galactic black hole mass measurements.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

FUSE Spectroscopy of the White Dwarf in U Geminorum

Observations of U Gem with FUSE confirm that the WD is heated by the outburst and cools during quiescence. At the end of an outburst, the best uniform temperature WD model fits to the data indicate a temperature of 41,000 - 47,000 K, while in mid-quiescence, the temperature is 28,000 - 31,000 K, depending on the gravity assumed for the WD. Photospheric abundance patterns at the end of the outburst and in mid-quiescence show evidence of CNO processing. Improved fits to the spectra can be obtained assuming there is a hotter, heated portion of the WD, presumably an accretion belt, with a temperature of 60,000 - 70,000 K occupying 14-32% of the surface immediately after outburst. However, other relatively simple models for the second component fit the data just as well and there is no obvious signature that supports the hypothesis that the second component arises from a separate region of the WD surface. Hence, other physical explanations still must be considered to explain the time evolution of the spectrum of U Gem in quiescence. Strong orbital phase dependent absorption, most likely due to gas above the disk, was observed during the mid-quiescence spectrum. This material, which can be modeled in terms of gas with a temperature of 10,000-11,000 K and a density of 10**13 cm**-3, has a column density of ~2 10**21 cm**-2 at orbital phase 0.6-0.85, and is probably the same material that has been observed to cause dips in the lightcurve at X-ray wavelengths in the past. The discrepancy described by Naylor et al. (2005) between the radius of the WD derived on the one hand by the UV spectral analysis and the distance to U Gem, and on the other, by the orbital elements and the gravitational redshift remains a serious problem.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

FUV Spectroscopy of the Dwarf Novae SS Cygni and WX Hydri in Quiescence

We present time-resolved FUV spectra of the dwarf novae SS Cyg and WX Hyi in quiescence from observations using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope on the Astro-1 and Astro-2 Space Shuttle missions and the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. Both dwarf novae are characterized by blue continua that extend to the Lyman limit punctuated by broad emission lines including transitions of O VI, N V, Si IV, and C IV. The continuum of WX Hyi can be fit with a white dwarf model with physically reasonable model parameters, but neither system actually shows unambiguous signatures of white dwarf emission. The shape and flux of the spectrum of SS Cyg cannot be self-consistently reconciled with a white dwarf providing all of the FUV continuum flux. Combination white dwarf/disk or white dwarf/optically thin plasma models improve the fit but still do not give physically reasonable model parameters for a quiescent dwarf nova. Assuming that the UV emission lines arise from the disk, the line shapes indicate that surface fluxes fall roughly as R^{-2} in both systems. Fits to the double-peaked line profiles in SS Cyg indicate that the FUV line forming region is concentrated closer to the white dwarf than that of the optical lines and provide no evidence of a hole in the inner disk. Although the flux from SS Cyg was relatively constant during all of our observations, WX Hyi showed significant variability during the GHRS observations. In WX Hyi, the line and continuum fluxes are (with the exception of He II) highly correlated, indicating a link between the formation mechanisms of the line and continuum regions.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

The Far Ultraviolet Spectrum of Z Cam in Quiescence

We have obtained Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (905-1187 Angstrom) spectra of the non-magnetic cataclysmic variable Z Cam during a period of quiescence. The spectrum resembles that of a hot (57,000 K) metal-enriched white dwarf. A high effective temperature is consistent with the expectation that dwarf nova systems that show standstills, as Z Cam does, have higher than normal time-averaged mass accretion rates. It is also consistent with current estimates for the mass and distance to Z Cam. A white dwarf model in which 29% of the surface has a temperature of 72,000 K and the rest of the surface is at 26,000 K also reproduces the spectral shape and the continuum flux level at the nominal distance and WD mass, and is a somewhat better statistical fit to the data. A second component could be due to a rotating accretion belt, a remnant of an outburst that ended eleven days prior to the FUSE observation, or ongoing accretion. We favor the uniform temperature model for Z Cam, largely because the data do not require anything more complicated. We have compared the quiescent spectrum with an archival spectrum of Z Cam in standstill, obtained with ORFEUS. The standstill spectrum is described well by a disk accreting at a rate of 7(-2,+4) 10**16 gm/s, where the errors depend on the assumed inclination. The quiescent spectra cover a full orbital period and are time-resolved to 500 s. No variability was observed in the continuum during the observation, but the depth of many of the absorption lines increased between orbital phases 0.65 and 0.81. We attribute this effect to absorption by material associated with the accretion stream, which is easier to understand if the inclination is near the maximum allowed value of 68 degrees.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Far Ultraviolet Observations of the Dwarf Nova VW Hyi in Quiescence

We present a 904-1183 A spectrum of the dwarf nova VW Hydri taken with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer during quiescence, eleven days after a normal outburst, when the underlying white dwarf accreter is clearly exposed in the far ultraviolet. However, model fitting show that a uniform temperature white dwarf does not reproduce the overall spectrum, especially at the shortest wavelengths. A better approximation to the spectrum is obtained with a model consisting of a white dwarf and a rapidly rotating ``accretion belt''. The white dwarf component accounts for 83% of the total flux, has a temperature of 23,000K, a v sin i = 400 km/s, and a low carbon abundance. The best-fit accretion belt component accounts for 17% of the total flux, has a temperature of about 48,000-50,000K, and a rotation rate Vrot sin i around 3,000-4,000 km/s. The requirement of two components in the modeling of the spectrum of VW Hyi in quiescence helps to resolve some of the differences in interpretation of ultraviolet spectra of VW Hyi in quiescence. However, the physical existence of a second component (and its exact nature) in VW Hyi itself is still relatively uncertain, given the lack of better models for spectra of the inner disk in a quiescent dwarf nova.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Observations of the SW Sextantis star DW Ursae Majoris with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer

We present an analysis of the first far-ultraviolet observations of the SW Sextantis-type cataclysmic variable DW Ursae Majoris, obtained in November 2001 with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. The time-averaged spectrum of DW UMa shows a rich assortment of emission lines (plus some contamination from interstellar absorption lines including molecular hydrogen). Accretion disk model spectra do not provide an adequate fit to the far-ultraviolet spectrum of DW UMa. We constructed a light curve by summing far-ultraviolet spectra extracted in 60-sec bins; this shows a modulation on the orbital period, with a maximum near photometric phase 0.93 and a minimum half an orbit later. No other periodic variability was found in the light curve data. We also extracted spectra in bins spanning 0.1 in orbital phase; these show substantial variation in the profile shapes and velocity shifts of the emission lines during an orbital cycle of DW UMa. Finally, we discuss possible physical models that can qualitatively account for the observed far-ultraviolet behavior of DW UMa, in the context of recent observational evidence for the presence of a self-occulting disk in DW UMa and the possibility that the SW Sex stars may be the intermediate polars with the highest mass transfer rates and/or weakest magnetic fields.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

WZ Sge: FUSE Spectroscopy of the 2001 Outburst

The short-period cataclysmic variable WZ Sge underwent its first dwarf nova outburst in 23 years in 2001 July. Here we describe 905-1187 Ang. spectra obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) during the outburst and within the first few months after the outburst. The first spectrum, obtained about 7 days after the outburst began and 6.4 days past optical maximum, is dominated by a broad (50-60 Ang. EW) feature due to O VI and can be characterized in terms of emission from a highly inclined disk modulated by the effects of a highly ionized wind. WZ Sge is fainter in later observations (starting about 45 days after optical maximum) and increasingly "red" in the far ultraviolet. The spectral shape increasingly resembles that expected from a metal-enriched white dwarf photosphere, although it seems likely that some disk contribution remains at least through the second FUSE observation, when the visible light curve showed the system to be undergoing a rebrightening event. The absorption lines observed on 29 September and in early November, when the visible light curve was in a fairly steady decline toward quiescence, are narrow, with widths (FWHM) of order 0.7-1.3 Ang. (200-400 km/s). The most natural explanation for these spectra is that the continuum arises from a relatively massive, slowly rotating white dwarf, and that the lines are created by a combination of metals in the atmosphere and of absorbing material along the line of sight to the white dwarf. If the white dwarf has log{g}= 8.5, then the white dwarf cooled from ~25,000 K on 29 September to 23,000 K in early November.

astro-ph↗