White Light Flare Continuum Observations with ULTRACAM

We present sub-second, continuous-coverage photometry of three flares on the dM3.5e star, EQ Peg A, using custom continuum filters with WHT/ULTRACAM. These data provide a new view of flare continuum emission, with each flare exhibiting a very distinct light curve morphology. The spectral shape of flare emission for the two large-amplitude flares is compared with synthetic ULTRACAM measurements taken from the spectra during the large 'megaflare' event on a similar type flare star. The white light shape during the impulsive phase of the EQ Peg flares is consistent with the range of colors derived from the megaflare continuum, which is known to contain a Hydrogen recombination component and compact, blackbody-like components. Tentative evidence in the ULTRACAM photometry is found for an anti-correlation between the emission of these components.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of the 16th Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun (PASP conference series, in press

CI Aql: a Type Ia supernova progenitor?

If recurrent novae are progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, their white dwarfs must have masses close to the Chandrasekhar limit. The most reliable means of determining white dwarf masses in recurrent novae is dynamically, via radial-velocity and rotational-broadening measurements of the companion star. Such measurements require the system to be both eclipsing and to show absorption features from the secondary star. Prior to the work reported here, the only dynamical mass estimate of a recurrent nova was for U Sco, which has a white dwarf mass of 1.55 ± 0.24M⊙. We present new time-resolved, intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of the eclipsing recurrent nova CI Aquilae (CI Aql) during quiescence. We find the mass of the white dwarf to be 1.00 ± 0.14M⊙ and the mass of the secondary star to be 2.32 ± 0.19M⊙. We estimate the radius of the secondary to be 2.07±0.06 R⊙, implying that it is a slightly evolved early A-type star. The high mass ratio of q = 2.35 ± 0.24 and the high secondary-star mass implies that the mass transfer occurs on a thermal time-scale. We suggest that CI Aql is rapidly evolving into a supersoft X-ray source, and ultimately may explode as a Type Ia supernova within 10 Myr

Scintillation noise in exoplanet transit photometry.

Transit photometry is a powerful technique for studying exoplanets. Transit observations from the ground of targets of magnitude V= 10 or brighter, however, are limited by scintillation noise due to Earth's atmosphere. Through turbulence profiling using instruments such as the stereo-SCIDAR, we have shown to able to accurately model scintillation noise, which is essential in order to fully account for the error budget of the observation. Through numerical modelling we find that employing scintillation reducing techniques enables an improvement of a factor between 1.36 — 1.6 on the astrophysical parameters

Revisiting the Transit Timing and Atmosphere Characterization of the Neptune-mass Planet HAT-P-26 b

We present the transit timing variation (TTV) and planetary atmosphere analysis of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26~b. We present a new set of 13 transit light curves from optical ground-based observations and combine them with light curves from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and previously published ground-based data. We refine the planetary parameters of HAT-P-26 b and undertake a TTV analysis using 33 transits obtained over seven years. The TTV analysis shows an amplitude signal of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.05 minutes, which could result from the presence of an additional $0.02 M_{Jup}$ planet at the 1:2 mean-motion resonance orbit. Using a combination of transit depths spanning optical to near-infrared wavelengths, we find that the atmosphere of HAT-P-26 b contains $2.4^{+2.9}_{-1.6}$% of H$_2$O with a derived temperature of $590^{+60}_{-50}$ K.Comment: 34 pages, accepted by A

Properties of an Eclipsing Double White Dwarf Binary NLTT 11748

We present high-quality ULTRACAM photometry of the eclipsing detached double white dwarf binary NLTT 11748. This system consists of a carbon/oxygen white dwarf and an extremely low mass (1.5 yr, we constrain the masses and radii of both objects in the NLTT 11748 system to a statistical uncertainty of a few percent. However, we find that overall uncertainty in the thickness of the envelope of the secondary carbon/oxygen white dwarf leads to a larger (≈13%) systematic uncertainty in the primary He WD's mass. Over the full range of possible envelope thicknesses, we find that our primary mass (0.136-0.162 M_☉) and surface gravity (log (g) = 6.32-6.38; radii are 0.0423-0.0433 R_☉) constraints do not agree with previous spectroscopic determinations. We use precise eclipse timing to detect the Rømer delay at 7σ significance, providing an additional weak constraint on the masses and limiting the eccentricity to ecos ω = (– 4 ± 5) × 10^(–5). Finally, we use multicolor data to constrain the secondary's effective temperature (7600 ± 120 K) and cooling age (1.6-1.7 Gyr)

A Systematic Search of Zwicky Transient Facility Data for Ultracompact Binary LISA-detectable Gravitational-wave Sources

Using photometry collected with the Zwicky Transient Facility, we are conducting an ongoing survey for binary systems with short orbital periods (P_b < 1 hr) with the goal of identifying new gravitational-wave sources detectable by the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We present a sample of 15 binary systems discovered thus far, with orbital periods ranging from 6.91 to 56.35 minutes. Of the 15 systems, seven are eclipsing systems that do not show signs of significant mass transfer. Additionally, we have discovered two AM Canum Venaticorum systems and six systems exhibiting primarily ellipsoidal variations in their lightcurves. We present follow-up spectroscopy and high-speed photometry confirming the nature of these systems, estimates of their LISA signal-to-noise ratios, and a discussion of their physical characteristics

First Ultracompact Roche Lobe–Filling Hot Subdwarf Binary

We report the discovery of the first short-period binary in which a hot subdwarf star (sdOB) filled its Roche lobe and started mass transfer to its companion. The object was discovered as part of a dedicated high-cadence survey of the Galactic plane named the Zwicky Transient Facility and exhibits a period of P = 39.3401(1) minutes, making it the most compact hot subdwarf binary currently known. Spectroscopic observations are consistent with an intermediate He-sdOB star with an effective temperature of T_(eff) = 42,400 ± 300 K and a surface gravity of log(g) = 5.77 ± 0.05. A high signal-to-noise ratio GTC+HiPERCAM light curve is dominated by the ellipsoidal deformation of the sdOB star and an eclipse of the sdOB by an accretion disk. We infer a low-mass hot subdwarf donor with a mass M_(sdOB) = 0.337 ± 0.015 M⊙ and a white dwarf accretor with a mass M_(WD) = 0.545 ± 0.020 M⊙. Theoretical binary modeling indicates the hot subdwarf formed during a common envelope phase when a 2.5–2.8 M⊙ star lost its envelope when crossing the Hertzsprung gap. To match its current P_(orb), T_(eff), log(g), and masses, we estimate a post–common envelope period of P_(orb) ≈ 150 minutes and find that the sdOB star is currently undergoing hydrogen shell burning. We estimate that the hot subdwarf will become a white dwarf with a thick helium layer of ≈0.1 M⊙, merge with its carbon/oxygen white dwarf companion after ≈17 Myr, and presumably explode as a thermonuclear supernova or form an R CrB star

PTF1 J082340.04+081936.5: A Hot Subdwarf B Star with a Low-mass White Dwarf Companion in an 87-minute Orbit

We present the discovery of the hot subdwarf B star (sdB) binary PTF1 J082340.04+081936.5. The system has an orbital period of P_(orb) = 87.49668(1) minutes (0.060761584(10) days), making it the second-most compact sdB binary known. The light curve shows ellipsoidal variations. Under the assumption that the sdB primary is synchronized with the orbit, we find a mass of M_(sdB) = 0.45_(-0.07)^(+0.09) M_⊙, a companion white dwarf mass of M_(WD) = 0.46_(-0.09)^(+0.12) M_⊙, and a mass ratio of q = M_(WD)/M_(sdB) = 1.03_(-0.08)^(+0.10). The future evolution was calculated using the MESA stellar evolution code. Adopting a canonical sdB mass of M_(sdB) = 0.47 M_⊙, we find that the sdB still burns helium at the time it will fill its Roche lobe if the orbital period was less than 106 minutes at the exit from the last common envelope (CE) phase. For longer CE exit periods, the sdB will have stopped burning helium and turned into a C/O white dwarf at the time of contact. Comparing the spectroscopically derived log g and T_(eff) with our MESA models, we find that an sdB model with a hydrogen envelope mass of 5 x 10^(-4) M_⊙ matches the measurements at a post-CE age of 94 Myr, corresponding to a post-CE orbital period of 109 minutes, which is close to the limit to start accretion while the sdB is still burning helium