VX Hya time keeping. Stroboscopic analysis
Photometric observations of the double-mode pulsator VX Hya are presented. They are analyzed with a stroboscopic method, completed by Fourier analysis.
astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv subjects
Michel Bonnardeau
Publications and source records attributed to Michel Bonnardeau.
CK Aqr time keeping. Evidence for a third body
Photometric measurements of the contact binary system CK Aqr are presented. 49 new times of minimum were obtained between 2005 and 2020. Along with already published observations, this allows the derivation of an improved ephemeris. The resulting O-C diagram shows oscillations which are interpreted as the light time travel effect due to a third component, with a period of 8.2 years.
astro-ph.SR↗
AR Ser: photometric observations of a Blazhko star
Photometric observations in 2010-2014 of the RR Lyrae star AR Serpentis are presented and analyzed. Two Blazhko modulations of comparable amplitude are detected, with the periods 89 and 108 days, and with evidence for irregularities.
astro-ph.SR↗
AO Psc time keeping
Eleven seasons, from 2004 to 2014, of photometric monitoring of the intermediate polar AO Psc are presented and are compared with previous observations. The spin up of the white dwarf is found to be slowing down. The amplitudes of the modulated and non-modulated components of the brightness are found to have undergone a major change in 2007.
astro-ph.SR↗
BG CMi time keeping
Twelve seasons, from 2005 to 2016, of photometric monitoring of the intermediate polar BG CMi are presented and are compared with previous observations. The spin up of the white dwarf is found to have undergone a major change between 1996 and 2005. There is also some evidence for sideband signals.
astro-ph.SR↗
The Rise and Fall of the King: The Correlation between FO Aquarii's Low States and the White Dwarf's Spindown
The intermediate polar FO Aquarii (FO Aqr) experienced its first-reported low-accretion states in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and using newly available photographic plates, we identify pre-discovery low states in 1965, 1966, and 1974. The primary focus of our analysis, however, is an extensive set of time-series photometry obtained between 2002 and 2018, with particularly intensive coverage of the 2016-2018 low states. After computing an updated spin ephemeris for the white dwarf (WD), we show that its spin period began to increase in 2014 after having spent 27 years decreasing; no other intermediate polar has experienced a sign change of its period derivative, but FO Aqr has now done so twice. Our central finding is that the recent low states all occurred shortly after the WD began to spin down, even though no low states were reported in the preceding quarter-century, when it was spinning up. Additionally, the system's mode of accretion is extremely sensitive to the mass-transfer rate, with accretion being almost exclusively disk-fed when FO Aqr is brighter than V~14 and substantially stream-fed when it is not. Even in the low states, a grazing eclipse remains detectable, confirming the presence of a disk-like structure (but not necessarily a Keplerian accretion disk). We relate these various observations to theoretical predictions that during the low state, the system's accretion disk dissipates into a non-Keplerian ring of diamagnetic blobs. Finally, a new XMM-Newton observation from a high state in 2017 reveals an anomalously soft X-ray spectrum and diminished X-ray luminosity compared to pre-2016 observations.
astro-ph.SR↗
Return of the King: Time-Series Photometry of FO Aquarii's Initial Recovery from its Unprecedented 2016 Low State
In 2016 May, the intermediate polar FO~Aqr was detected in a low state for the first time in its observational history. We report time-resolved photometry of the system during its initial recovery from this faint state. Our data, which includes high-speed photometry with cadences of just 2 sec, shows the existence of very strong periodicities at 22.5 min and 11.26 min, equivalent to the spin-orbit beat frequency and twice its value, respectively. A pulse at the spin frequency is also present but at a much lower amplitude than is normally observed in the bright state. By comparing our power spectra with theoretical models, we infer that a substantial amount of accretion was stream-fed during our observations, in contrast to the disk-fed accretion that dominates the bright state. In addition, we find that FO~Aqr's rate of recovery has been unusually slow in comparison to rates of recovery seen in other magnetic cataclysmic variables, with an $e$-folding time of 115$\pm7$ days. The recovery also shows irregular variations in the median brightness of as much as 0.2~mag over a 10-day span. Finally, we show that the arrival times of the spin pulses are dependent upon the system's overall brightness.
astro-ph.SR↗
FO Aqr time keeping
Twelve seasons, from 2004 to 2015, of photometric monitoring of the intermediate polar FO Aqr are presented and are compared with previous observations. The ambiguities in the cycle counting can be lifted and a new O-C diagram, spanning 34 yr, is presented, along with new ephemerides.
astro-ph.SR↗
The asynchronous polar V1432 Aquilae and its path back to synchronism
V1432 Aquilae is the only known eclipsing asynchronous polar. In this respect it is unique and therefore merits our attention. We report the results of a 15-year campaign by the globally distributed Center for Backyard Astrophysics to observe V1432 Aql and investigate its return to synchronism. Originally knocked out of synchrony by a nova explosion before observing records began, the magnetic white dwarf in V1432 Aql is currently rotating slower than the orbital period but is gradually catching up. The fortuitously high inclination of the binary orbit affords us the bonus of eclipses providing a regular clock against which these temporal changes can be assessed. At the present rate, synchronism should be achieved around 2100. The continually changing trajectory of the accretion stream as it follows the magnetic field lines of the rotating white dwarf produces a complex pattern of light emission which we have measured and documented, providing comprehensive observational evidence against which physical models of the system can be tested.
astro-ph.SR↗
Multi-Longitude Observation Campaign of KV Cancri: an RR Lyrae star with irregular Blazhko modulations
We present the results of multi-longitude observations of KV Cancri, an RR Lyrae star showing an irregular Blazhko effect. With a pulsation period of 0.50208 day, the times of light curve maxima are delayed by 6 minutes per day. This daily delay regularly leads to long periods of time without maximum light curve observations for a given site. To cope with this observing time window problem, we have organized a multi-longitude observation campaign including a telescope of the AAVSONet. From the observed light curves, 92 pulsation maxima have been measured covering about six Blazhko periods. The Fourier analysis of magnitudes at maximum light has revealed a main Blazhko period of 77.6 days and also a secondary period of 40.5 days. A Fourier analysis of (O-C) values did not show the secondary Blazhko period. The frequency spectrum of the complete light curve, from a Fourier analysis and successive pre-whitening with PERIOD04, has shown triplet structures around the two Blazhko modulation frequencies but with slightly different periods (77.8 and 42.4 days). The second Blazhko frequency is statistically not a harmonic of the main Blazhko frequency. Besides the two Blazhko modulations KV Cnc presents other particularities like irregularities from Blazhko cycle to cycle and very fast magnitude variations which can reach a maximum of 2.5 magnitudes per hour over a period of 15 minutes. This campaign shows that regular observations by amateur astronomers remain important. Indeed such a detailed characterization of the Blazhko effect could not be obtained from large-scale surveys, as cooperative long time-series observations are needed.
astro-ph.SR↗