The optical emission from ultraluminous x-ray sources.

Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) are point-like, non-nuclear sources which exceed the Eddington luminosity for a stellar mass black hole (BH). The emission from these sources might be beamed or super-Eddington, but it has also been pro posed that the compact object in these sources are intermediate mass BHs (IMBHs), which fit in the mass range between the two known populations of BH in the galaxy. The existence of IMBHs is under intense debate, and study of the X-ray data has been unable to resolve this issue. This thesis describes a model I have constructed in order to examine the optical/IR emission from these sources: an alternative channel by which their nature may be understood. I assume a binary model with a black hole accreting matter from a Roche lobe filling companion star. I consider the effects of radiative transport and radiative equilibrium in the irradiated surfaces of both the star and a thin accretion disc. I use current stellar evolutionary models as an input component in this model, and hence determine the mass, radius and age of the donor stars in a range of ULX systems, and in some cases provide limits on the BH mass. In addition I determine the mass transfer rate in these systems from the X-ray luminosity and compare this to transfer rate calculations based on the stellar evolutionary models. Since this method is independent of the optical data it is a powerful additional constraint on the parameter space. For systems where optical observations are available at multiple epochs, I make further determinations of the binary parameters based on the optical variability. Where it is possible to constrain the masses of the BHs, I find them to be consistent with BHs of up to 100A . I find that in general the donor stars are older and less massive than previously thought, and are consistent with being of spectral type B. I discuss how these results affect our understanding of the evolution and history of ULXs. I discuss how future studies of ULX optical counterparts will be even more revealing, and I make predictions for these optical campaigns, estimating binary periods, variability and the results of IR observational campaigns, which my results suggest will be a important tool in future studies of the nature of this class of sources

PHL 1445: An eclipsing cataclysmic variable with a substellar donor near the period minimum

PublishedThis is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record is available online via the DOI in this record.We present high-speed, three-colour photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova PHL 1445, which, with an orbital period of 76.3 min, lies just below the period minimum of ~82 min for cataclysmic variable stars (CVs). Averaging four eclipses reveals resolved eclipses of the white dwarf and bright spot. We determined the system parameters by fitting a parametrized eclipse model to the averaged light curve. We obtain a mass ratio of q = 0.087 ± 0.006 and inclination i = 85°.2 ± 0°.9. The primary and donor masses were found to be Mw = 0.73 ± 0.03 M⊙ and Md = 0.064 ± 0.005 M⊙, respectively. Through multicolour photometry a temperature of the white dwarf of Tw = 13 200 ± 700 K and a distance of 220 ± 50 pc were determined. The evolutionary state of PHL 1445 is uncertain. We are able to rule out a significantly evolved donor, but not one that is slightly evolved. Formation with a brown dwarf donor is plausible, though the brown dwarf would need to be no older than 600 Myr at the start of mass transfer, requiring an extremely low mass ratio (q = 0.025) progenitor system. PHL 1445 joins SDSS 1433 as a sub-period minimum CV with a substellar donor. The existence of two such systems raises an alternative possibility that current estimates for the intrinsic scatter and/or position of the period minimum may be in error.UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)FONDECY

Gaia Early Data Release 3: Gaia photometric science alerts

Context. Since July 2014, the Gaia mission has been engaged in a high-spatial-resolution, time-resolved, precise, accurate astrometric, and photometric survey of the entire sky. Aims. We present the Gaia Science Alerts project, which has been in operation since 1 June 2016. We describe the system which has been developed to enable the discovery and publication of transient photometric events as seen by Gaia. Methods. We outline the data handling, timings, and performances, and we describe the transient detection algorithms and filtering procedures needed to manage the high false alarm rate. We identify two classes of events: (1) sources which are new to Gaia and (2) Gaia sources which have undergone a significant brightening or fading. Validation of the Gaia transit astrometry and photometry was performed, followed by testing of the source environment to minimise contamination from Solar System objects, bright stars, and fainter near-neighbours. Results. We show that the Gaia Science Alerts project suffers from very low contamination, that is there are very few false-positives. We find that the external completeness for supernovae, CE = 0.46, is dominated by the Gaia scanning law and the requirement of detections from both fields-of-view. Where we have two or more scans the internal completeness is CI = 0.79 at 3 arcsec or larger from the centres of galaxies, but it drops closer in, especially within 1 arcsec. Conclusions. The per-Transit photometry for Gaia transients is precise to 1% at G = 13, and 3% at G = 19. The per-Transit astrometry is accurate to 55 mas when compared to Gaia DR2. The Gaia Science Alerts project is one of the most homogeneous and productive transient surveys in operation, and it is the only survey which covers the whole sky at high spatial resolution (subarcsecond), including the Galactic plane and bulge. © S. T. Hodgkin et al. 2021

ULTRACAM z′-band detection of the secondary eclipse of WASP-12b

We present z′-band secondary eclipse photometry of the highly irradiated hot Jupiter WASP-12b using ULTRACAM on the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope. We measure a decrease in flux of δ = 0.130 ± 0.013 per cent during the passage of the planet behind the star, which is significantly deeper than the previous measurement at this wavelength (0.082 ± 0.015 per cent). Our secondary eclipse is best fitted with a mid-eclipse phase, ϕ, that is compatible with a circular orbit ϕ = 0.501 ± 0.002, in agreement with previous results. In combination with existing data, our eclipse depth measurement allows us to constrain the characteristics of the planet's atmosphere, which is consistent with a carbon-rich model, with no evidence for a strong thermal inversion. If the difference in eclipse depth reported here compared to that of López-Morales et al. is of physical origin, as opposed to due to systematics, it may be caused by temporal variability in the flux, due to atmospheric dynamics

Hidden population of AM CVns in the SDSS

We present the latest results from a spectroscopic survey designed to uncover the hidden population of AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries in the photometric data base of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We selected ∼ 2000 candidates based on their photometric colours, a relatively small sample which is expected to contain the majority of all AM CVn binaries in the SDSS (expected to be ∼ 50). We present two new candidate AM CVn binaries discovered using this strategy: SDSS J104325.08+563258.1 and SDSS J173047.59+554518.5. We also present spectra of 29 new cataclysmic variables, 23 DQ white dwarfs and 21 DZ white dwarfs discovered in this survey. The survey is now approximately 70percent complete, and the discovery of seven new AM CVn binaries indicates a lower space density than previously predicted. From the essentially complete g ≤ 19 sample, we derive an observed space density of (5±3)x10-7/pc3; this is lower than previous estimates by a factor of 3. The sample has been cross-matched with the GALEX All-Sky Imaging Survey data base, and with Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The addition of UV photometry allows new colour cuts to be applied, reducing the size of our sample to ∼ 1100 objects. Optimizing our follow-up should allow us to uncover the remaining AM CVn binaries present in the SDSS, providing the larger homogeneous sample required to more reliably estimate their space density

PG 1018-047 radial velocities (Deca+, 2012)

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Characterization of the Nucleus, Morphology, and Activity of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov by Optical and Near-infrared GROWTH, Apache Point, IRTF, ZTF, and Keck Observations

Contains fulltext : 220702.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access

Radial velocity monitoring of PG 1018-047

About 50 per cent of all known hot subdwarf B stars (sdBs) reside in close (short-period) binaries, for which common-envelope ejection is the most likely formation mechanism. However, Han et al. (2002MNRAS.336..449H 2002MNRAS.336..449H, 2003MNRAS.341..669H 2003MNRAS.341..669H) predict that the majority of sdBs should form through stable mass transfer leading to long-period binaries. Determining orbital periods for these systems is challenging and while the orbital periods of ∼100 short-period systems have been measured, there are no periods measured above 30d. As part of a large programme to characterize the orbital periods of sdB binaries and their formation history, we have found that PG 1018-047 has an orbital period of 759.8±5.8d, easily making it the longest period ever detected for a sdB binary. Exploiting the Balmer lines of the subdwarf primary and the narrow absorption lines of the companion present in the spectra, we derive the radial velocity amplitudes of both stars, and estimate the mass ratio MMS/MsdB=1.6±0.2. From the combination of visual and infrared photometry, the spectral type of the companion star is determined to be mid-