395 research outputs found
Discovery of an Unusual High State in the Long-Term Light Curve of AM Herculis
The magnetic cataclysmic variable archetype AM Herculis is known to display high and low photometric
states, in which it switches from Roche lobe-overflow accretion (high) to wind accretion (low). The origin of
this behavior is still unknown (although it is believed to be linked to the presence of starspots located near the L1
point on the secondary star), as are the specifics of duration and frequency of the two states. During the recent (2007)
transition from an exceptionally long period of persistent low state behavior back to the high state, AM Her entered a
short (~2 month) intermediate state, in which its brightness remained at ~0.5 mag fainter than the normal high-state
level. Within the recorded history of AM Her, this was the first time the system displayed such behavior. Using data
from the American Association of Variable Star Observers, we compare the characteristics of this faint high state to
the subsequent normal high state, and a prior "failed high state," in which the system briefly reached a brightness
level near that of the normal high state before rapidly returning to the low state. The distribution of magnitude
values attained during each state, along with the shapes of the orbital light curve in each state, support a scenario
in which the specific configuration of the accretion flow between the secondary star and the white dwarf must be
rapidly established at the end of a low state, even before the mass transfer rate has reached the normal high-state
level
White Dwarf - Red Dwarf Systems Resolved with the Hubble Space Telescope. II. Full Snapshot Survey Results
Results are presented for a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for
Surveys high-resolution imaging campaign of 90 white dwarfs with known or
suspected low mass stellar and substellar companions. Of the 72 targets which
remain candidate and confirmed white dwarfs with near-infrared excess, 43 are
spatially resolved into two or more components, and a total of 12 systems are
potentially triples. There is a possible, slight deficit of earlier spectral
types (bluer colors) among the spatially unresolved companions, exactly the
opposite of expectations if significant mass is transferred to the companion
during the common envelope phase. Using the best available distance estimates,
the low mass companions to white dwarfs exhibit a bimodal distribution in
projected separation. This result supports the hypothesis that during the giant
phases of the white dwarf progenitor, any unevolved companions either migrate
inward to short periods of hours to days, or outward to periods of hundreds to
thousands of years. No intermediate projected separations of a few to several
AU are found among these pairs. However, a few double M dwarfs (within triples)
are spatially resolved in this range, empirically demonstrating that such
separations were readily detectable among the binaries with white dwarfs. A
straightforward and testable prediction emerges: all spatially unresolved, low
mass stellar and substellar companions to white dwarfs should be in short
period orbits. This result has implications for substellar companion and
planetary orbital evolution during the post-main sequence lifetime of their
stellar hosts.Comment: Accepted to ApJ Supplement Series, emulateapj format, 14 figures, 8
table
Recent Results from Infrared Observations of White Dwarfs, their Companions, and the Dust that Surrounds Them
Although "traditionally" observed at short wavelengths, white dwarfs have displayed many surprising features when probed in the infrared. We present an overview of recent results from ground- and space-based near- to mid-infrared observations of white dwarfs. These include the discovery of many new candidate binary stars containing low mass stellar or sub-stellar companions from a sample of objects previously thought to be single white dwarfs, and Spitzer Space Telescope observations that suggest that dust is common in the environs of white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables
Mid-Infrared Circumstellar Shell Sources Discovered with Spitzer: An Obscured Population of Massive Stars?
We have discovered a large number of circular and elliptical shells around luminous central sources at 24 μm with the MIPS instrument on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. Most of these shells are not visible in the shorter wavelengths bands of IRAC or archival 2MASS and optical images. On the other hand, many of the central stars are detected in the 2MASS catalog, but lack an optical counterpart, indicating that we are dealing with a population of highly obscured objects. Our archival follow-up effort has revealed 90% of these shell sources to be previously unknown
Near-infrared Observations of the Proto-Planetary Nebula IRAS~07131-0147
We have obtained near-infrared imaging and an optical spectrum of the
proto-planetary nebula IRAS~07131-0147, a highly polarized bipolar reflection
nebula believed to be in evolutionary transition from the asymptotic giant
branch to the planetary nebula phase. Our images reveal point reflection
symmetry in the lobes - a relatively rare morphological feature. We place an
upper limit on the distance of 6.5 kpc. Utilizing numerical integrations of
single grain scattering models we find the nebula to lie at an inclination
angle of i=20\pm5 degrees in the plane of the sky. We present a refined
geometric interpretation of IRAS~07131-0147 consistent with our new
observational data and argue that the central star is likely to have an as yet
undetected binary companion.Comment: 16 pages, compressed uuencoded file includes 6 postscript figures,
also available via anonymous ftp at ftp://igpp.llnl.gov/pub/alves/; accepted
for publication in the Astronomical Journa
A New Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy : RXJ1236.9+2656
We report identification of a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy RXJ1236.9+2656.
X-ray emission from the NLS1 galaxy undergoes long-term variability with
0.1--2.0 keV flux changing by a factor of 2 within about 3 yr. The ROSAT PSPC
spectrum of RXJ1236.9+2656 is well represented by a power-law of Gamma = 3.7
absorbed by matter in our own Galaxy (N_H = 1.33X10^20 cm**-2). Intrinsic soft
X-ray luminosity of the NLS1 galaxy is estimated to be 1.5X10^43 erg/s in the
energy band of 0.1-2.0 keV. The optical spectrum of RXJ1236.9+2656 is typical
of NLS1 galaxies and shows narrow Balmer emission lines (1100 km/s < FWHM <
1700 km/s) of Hbeta, Halpha, and forbidden lines of [O III] and [N II]. Fe II
multiplets, usually present in optical spectra of NLS1 galaxies, are also
detected in RXJ1236.9+2656.Comment: 4 pages, A&A style Latex, To apear in A&A as a research not
Observations of V592 Cas -— an Outflow at Optical Wavelengths
We present new red optical spectra of V592 Cas aimed at exploring the properties of the outflow of this system in a spectral region where the underlying white dwarf and the accretion disk do not contribute significantly to the observed absorption components of the Hα and He I line profiles. We use the Hα emission line to study the wind, which appears as pronounced blueshifted P Cygni absorption troughs whose low velocity end contaminates the blue side of the emission line profile. The wind appears to be episodic in nature, with multiple events reaching velocities of 5000 km s^–1 in Hα. Similar (but weaker) wind signatures appear in the He I 5876 Å line but are absent in He I 6678 Å. Our data suggest that during wind episodes the wind is phase dependent and is visible for half of the orbit of the system. Considering that V592 Cas is viewed almost face-on, the symmetry axis of the outflow cannot be orthogonal to the disk and/or the outflow must have some other inherent asymmetry in outflow geometry. A possible origin of the wind is in a disk hotspot, either at the initial impact point of the accretion stream on the disk edge or as a result of disk overflow (similar to SW Sextantis stars). Simultaneous optical photometry during one night of our spectroscopic observations indicate that there is no clear relationship between the optical brightness variations and the strength of the outflow in this system
The WISE InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey
The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is a NASA medium class Explorer
mission that performed an all sky survey in four infrared bands. We present an overview of the WISE
InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey, which has the goals of characterizing
white dwarf stars in the WISE bands, confirming objects known to have infrared excess from past
observations, and revealing new examples of white dwarfs with infrared excess that can be attributed
to unresolved companions or debris disks. We obtained preliminary WISE detections (S/N > 2) in
at least one band of 405 white dwarfs from the 9316 unique possible targets in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey Data Release 4 Catalog of Spectroscopically Identified White Dwarfs (not all potential
targets were available in the sky coverage used here). A companion paper in this volume discusses
specific results from our target detections
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