39 research outputs found
Identification of Faint Chandra X-ray Sources in the Core-Collapsed Globular Cluster NGC 6752
We have searched for optical identifications for 39 Chandra X-ray sources
that lie within the 1.9 arcmin half-mass radius of the nearby (d = 4.0 kpc),
core-collapsed globular cluster, NGC 6752, using deep Hubble Space Telescope
ACS/WFC imaging in B435, R625, and H alpha. Photometry of these images allows
us to classify candidate counterparts based primarily on color-magnitude and
color-color diagram location. The color-color diagram is particularly useful
for quantifying the H alpha line equivalent width. In addition to recovering 11
previously detected optical counterparts, we propose 20 new optical IDs. In
total, there are 16 likely or less certain cataclysmic variables (CVs), nine
likely or less certain chromospherically active binaries, three galaxies, and
three active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The latter three sources, which had been
identified as likely CVs by previous investigations, now appear to be
extragalactic objects based on their proper motions. As we previously found for
NGC 6397, the CV candidates in NGC 6752 fall into a bright group that is
centrally concentrated relative to the turnoff-mass stars and a faint group
that has a spatial distribution that is more similar to that of the
turnoff-mass stars. This is consistent with an evolutionary scenario in which
CVs are produced by dynamical interactions near the cluster center and diffuse
to larger radius orbits as they age.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figure
Identification Of Faint Chandra X-Ray Sources In The Core-Collapsed Globular Cluster NGC 6397: Evidence For A Bimodal Cataclysmic Variable Population
We have searched for optical identifications for 79 Chandra X-ray sources that lie within the half-mass radius of the nearby, core-collapsed globular cluster NGC 6397, using deep Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Channel imaging in H alpha, R, and B. Photometry of these images allows us to classify candidate counterparts based on color-magnitude diagram location. In addition to recovering nine previously detected cataclysmic variables (CVs), we have identified six additional faint CV candidates, a total of 42 active binaries (ABs), two millisecond pulsars, one candidate active galactic nucleus, and one candidate interacting galaxy pair. Of the 79 sources, 69 have a plausible optical counterpart. The 15 likely and possible CVs in NGC 6397 mostly fall into two groups: a brighter group of six for which the optical emission is dominated by contributions from the secondary and accretion disk and a fainter group of seven for which the white dwarf dominates the optical emission. There are two possible transitional objects that lie between these groups. The faintest CVs likely lie near the minimum of the CV period distribution, where an accumulation is expected. The spatial distribution of the brighter CVs is much more centrally concentrated than those of the fainter CVs and the ABs. This may represent the result of an evolutionary process in which CVs are produced by dynamical interactions, such as exchange reactions, near the cluster center and are scattered to larger orbital radii, over their lifetimes, as they age and become fainter.NASA HST-GO-10257ANSF REU AST-0452975NSERCCIFARAstronom
Cataclysmic Variables and a New Class of Faint UV Stars in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397
We present evidence that the globular cluster NGC 6397 contains two distinct
classes of centrally-concentrated UV-bright stars. Color-magnitude diagrams
constructed from U, B, V, and I data obtained with the HST/WFPC2 reveal seven
UV-bright stars fainter than the main-sequence turnoff, three of which had
previously been identified as cataclysmic variables (CVs). Lightcurves of these
stars show the characteristic ``flicker'' of CVs, as well as longer-term
variability. A fourth star is identified as a CV candidate on the basis of its
variability and UV excess. Three additional UV-bright stars show no photometric
variability and have broad-band colors characteristic of B stars. These
non-flickering UV stars are too faint to be extended horizontal branch stars.
We suggest that they could be low-mass helium white dwarfs, formed when the
evolution of a red giant is interrupted, due either to Roche-lobe overflow onto
a binary companion, or to envelope ejection following a common-envelope phase
in a tidal-capture binary. Alternatively, they could be very-low-mass
core-He-burning stars. Both the CVs and the new class of faint UV stars are
strongly concentrated toward the cluster center, to the extent that mass
segregation from 2-body relaxation alone may be unable to explain their
distribution.Comment: 11 pages plus 3 eps figures; LaTeX using aaspp4.sty; to appear in The
Astrophysical Journal Letter
A Deep Multiwavelength View of Binaries in Omega Centauri
We summarize results of a search for X-ray-emitting binary stars in the
massive globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) using Chandra and HST.
ACIS-I imaging reveals 180 X-ray sources, of which we estimate that 45-70 are
associated with the cluster. We present 40 identifications, most of which we
have obtained using ACS/WFC imaging with HST that covers the central 10'x10' of
the cluster. Roughly half of the optical IDs are accreting binary stars,
including 9 very faint blue stars that we suggest are cataclysmic variables
near the period limit. Another quarter comprise a variety of different systems
all likely to contain coronally active stars. The remaining 9 X-ray-bright
stars are an intriguing group that appears redward of the red giant branch,
with several lying along the anomalous RGB. Future spectroscopic observations
should reveal whether these stars are in fact related to the anomalous RGB, or
whether they instead represent a large group of "sub-subgiants" such as have
been seen in smaller numbers in other globular and open clusters.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"Binary Star Evolution: Mass Loss, Accretion, and Mergers," Mykonos, Greece,
June 22-25, 201