179 research outputs found
The Dwarf Nova Outbursts of Nova Her 1960 (=V446 Her)
V446 Her is the best example of an old nova which has developed dwarf nova
eruptions in the post-nova state. We report on observed properties of the
long-term light curve of V446 Her, using photometry over 19 years. Yearly
averages of the outburst magnitudes shows a decline of ~0.013 mag/yr,
consistent with the decline of other post-novae that do not have dwarf nova
outbursts. Previous suggestions of bimodal distributions of the amplitudes and
widths of the outbursts are confirmed. The outbursts occur at a mean spacing of
18 days but the range of spacings is large (13-30 days). From simulations of
dwarf nova outbursts it has been predicted that the outburst spacing in V446
Her will increase as M-dot from the red dwarf companion slowly falls following
the nova; however the large intrinsic scatter in the spacings serves to hide
any evidence of this effect. We do find a systematic change in the outburst
pattern in which the brighter, wider type of outbursts disappeared after late
2003, and this phenomenon is suggested to be due to falling M-dot following the
nova.Comment: To appear at the Astronomical Journal; 7 pages, 1 table, 11 figure
The gamma-ray spectrum of Centaurus A: A high-resolution observation between 70 keV and 8 MeV
The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Low Energy Gamma ray Spectrometer (LEGS) observed the nearby active nucleus galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) during a balloon flight on 1981 November 19. There is no evidence of a break in the spectrum or of any line features. The 1.6 MeV limit is a factor of 8 lower than the 1974 line flux, indicating that, if the 1974 feature was real, and, if it was narrow, then the line intensity decreased significantly between 1974 and 1981. The lack of observed annihilation radiation from Cen A, combined with the temporal variations that are seen in the X-ray and gamma-ray intensities, constrain the size of the emission region to be between 10 to the 13th power and 5 x 10 to the 17th power cm
SHORTCUT METHOD OF SOLUTION OF GEODESIC EQUATIONS FOR SCHWARZSCHILD BLACK HOLE
It is shown how the use of the Kerr-Schild coordinate system can greatly
simplify the formulation of the geodesic equation of the Schwarzschild
solution. An application of this formulation to the numerical computation of
the aspect of a non-rotating black hole is presented. The generalization to the
case of the Kerr solution is presented too.Comment: 11 pages, 2 PostScript figures (available as uuencoded compressed tar
file), uses epsfig.tex). Accepted on February 1995 for publication in
Classical and Quantum Gravit
Variability in the Thermal Emission from Accreting Neutron Star Transients
The composition of the outer 100 m of a neutron star sets the heat flux that
flows outwards from the core. For an accreting neutron star in an X-ray
transient, the thermal quiescent flux depends sensitively on the amount of
hydrogen and helium remaining on the surface after an accretion outburst and on
the composition of the underlying ashes of previous H/He burning. Because H/He
has a higher thermal conductivity, a larger mass of H/He implies a shallower
thermal gradient through the low density envelope and hence a higher effective
temperature for a given core temperature. The mass of residual H and He varies
from outburst to outburst, so the thermal quiescent flux is variable even
though the core temperature is constant for timescales < 10 000 yr. Heavy
elements settle from a H/He envelope in a few hours; we therefore model the
quiescent envelope as two distinct layers, H/He over heavier elements, and
treat the mass of H/He as a free parameter. We find that the emergent thermal
quiescent flux can vary by a factor of 2 to 3 between different quiescent
epochs. The variation is more pronounced at lower interior temperatures, making
systems with low quiescent luminosities and frequent outbursts, such as SAX
J1808.4-3658, ideal candidates from which to observe this effect. We compute,
for different ash compositions, the interior temperatures of Cen X-4, Aql X-1,
and SAX J1808.4-3658. In the case of Aql X-1, the inferred high interior
temperature suggests that neutrino cooling contributes to the neutron star's
thermal balance.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, uses emulateapj5 and psnfss fonts. To be
published in The Astrophysical Journa
The Mini AGN at the Center of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4552 with HST
The complex phenomenology shown by the UV-bright, variable spike first
detected with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at the center of the otherwise
normal galaxy NGC 4552 is further investigated with both HST imaging (FOC) and
spectroscopy (FOS). HST/FOC images taken in 1991, 1993, and 1996 in the near UV
have been analyzed in a homogeneous fashion, showing that the central spike has
brightened by a factor ~4.5 between 1991 and 1993, and has decreased its
luminosity by a factor ~2.0 between 1993 and 1996. FOS spectroscopy extending
from the near UV to the red side of the optical spectrum reveals a strong UV
continuum over the spectrum of the underlying galaxy, along with several
emission lines in both the UV and the optical ranges. In spite of the low
luminosity of the UV continuum of the spike (~3*10^5 Lsolar), the spike is
definitely placed among AGNs by current diagnostics based on the emission line
intensity ratios, being just on the borderline between Seyferts and LINERs.
Line profiles are very broad, and both permitted and forbidden lines are best
modelled with a combination of broad and narrow components, with FWHM of ~3000
km s^-1 and ~700 km s^-1, respectively. This evidence argues for the variable
central spike being produced by a modest accretion event onto a central massive
black hole (BH), with the accreted material having possibly being stripped from
a a star in a close fly by with the BH. The 1996 broad Halpha luminosity of
this mini-AGN is ~5.6*10^37 erg s^-1, about a factor of two less than that of
the nucleus of NGC 4395, heretofore considered to be the faintest known AGN.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX, with 12 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
ASCA Observations of the Jet Source XTE J1748-288
XTE J1748-288 is a new X-ray transient with a one-sided radio jet. It was
observed with ASCA on 1998/09/06 and 1998/09/26, 100 days after the onset of
the radio-X-ray outburst. The spectra were fitted with an attenuated power-law
model, and the 2-6-keV flux was 4.6 * 10^{-11} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} and 2.2 *
10^{-12} on 09/06 and 09/26, respectively. The light curve showed that the
steady exponential decay with an e-folding time of 14 days lasted over 100 days
and 4 orders of magnitude from the peak of the outburst. The celestial region
including the source had been observed with ASCA on 1993/10/01 and 1994/09/22,
years before the discovery. In those period, the flux was < 10^{-13} erg s^{-1}
cm^{-2}, below ASCA's detection limit. The jet blob colliding to the
environmental matter was supposedly not the X-ray source, although the emission
mechanism has not been determined. A possible detection of a K line from highly
ionized iron is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to ApJL. Fig2 is replaced with correct
on
A 150MG magnetic white dwarf in the cataclysmic variable RX J1554.2+2721
We report the detection of Zeeman-split Lalpha absorption pi and sigma+ lines
in the far-ultraviolet Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging
Spectrograph spectrum of the magnetic cataclysmic variable RX J1554.2+2721.
Fitting the STIS data with magnetic white dwarf model spectra, we derive a
field strength of B~144MG and an effective temperature of 17000K<Teff<23000K.
This measurement makes RX J1554.2+2721 only the third cataclysmic variable
containing a white dwarf with a field exceeding 100MG. Similar to the other
high-field polar AR UMa, RX J1554.2+2721 is often found in a state of feeble
mass transfer, which suggests that a considerable number of high-field polars
may still remain undiscovered.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for ApJ Letter
A Detection of an Anti-correlated Hard X-ray Lag in AM Herculis
Context {Earlier cross-correlation studies for AM Her were performed in
various energy range from optical to X-ray and suggested that it mostly shows a
high level of correlation but on occasion it shows a low level of correlation
or uncorrelation.} Aims {To investigate the degree of correlation between soft
(2-4 keV) and hard (9-20 keV) X-rays, we perform the cross-correlation study of
the X-ray data sets of AM Her obtained with {\it RXTE}.}
Methods {We cross-correlate the background-subtracted soft and hard X-ray
light curves using the XRONOS program crosscor and fit a model to the obtained
cross-correlation functions.}
Results {We detect a hard X-ray lag of s in a specific section of
energy-dependent light curve, where the soft X-ray (2-4 keV) intensity
decreases but the hard X-ray (9-20 keV) intensity increases. From a spectral
analysis, we find that the X-ray emission temperature increases during the
anti-correlated intensity variation. In two other observations, the
cross-correlation functions show a low level of correlation, which is
consistent with the earlier results performed in a different energy range.}
Conclusions {We report a detection of an anti-correlated hard X-ray lag of
190 s from the proto-type polar AM Her. The hard X-ray lag is detected
for the first time in the given energy range, and it is the longest lag among
those reported in magnetic cataclysmic variables. We discuss the implications
of our findings regarding the origin of the hard X-ray lag and the
anti-correlated intensity variation.}Comment: Accepted in A&A, 4 page
Determination of the basic parameters of the dwarf nova EY Cygni
High-dispersion spectroscopy of EY Cyg obtained from data spanning twelve
years show, for the first time, the radial velocity curves from both emission
and absorption line systems, yielding semi-amplitudes K_{em}=24+/- 4 km s^-1
and K_{abs}=54+/- 2 km s^-1. The orbital period of this system is found to be
0.4593249(1)d. The masses of the stars, their mass ratio and their separation
are found to be M_1 sin^3 i = 0.015+/-0.002 M_sun, M_2 sin^3 i = 0.007+/-0.002
M_sun, q = K_1/K_2 = M_2/M_1 = 0.44+/-0.02 and a sin i = 0.71+/-0.04 R_sun. We
also found that the spectral type of the secondary star is around K0,consistent
with an early determination by Kraft(1962). From the spectral type of the
secondary star and simple comparisons with single main sequence stars, we
conclude that the radius of the secondary star is about 30 per cent larger than
a main sequence star of the same mass. We also present VRI CCD photometric
observations, some of them simultaneous with the spectroscopic runs. The
photometric data shows several light modulations, including a sinusoidal
behaviour with twice the frequency of the orbital period, characteristic of the
modulation coming from an elongated, irradiated secondary star. Low and high
states during quiescence are also detected and discussed. From several
constrains, we obtain tight limits for the inclination angle of the binary
system between 13 and 15 degrees, with a best value of 14 degrees obtained from
the sinusoidal light curve analysis. From the above results we derive masses
M_1 = 1.10+/-0.09 M_sun, M_2 = 0.49+/-0.09 M_sun, and a binary separation a =
2.9+/- 0.1 R_sun.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication on A&
The origin and fate of short-period low-mass black-hole binaries
We present results of a population synthesis study for semidetached short
orbital period binaries which contain low-mass(<1.5 Msun) donors and black hole
(>4 Msun) accretors. Evolution of these binaries is determined by nuclear
evolution of the donors and/or orbital angular momentum loss due to magnetic
braking by the stellar wind of the donors and gravitational wave radiation.
According to our model, the estimated total number of this type of black-hole
binaries in the Galaxy is about 10000. If the magnetic braking is described by
the Verbunt & Zwaan formula, the model predicts around 3000 transient systems
with periods >2 hours and around 300 luminous stable systems with periods
between 3 and 8 hours. Several dozens of these bright systems should be above
the RXTE ASM sensitivity limit. The absence of such systems implies that
angular momentum losses are reduced by a factor more than 2 with respect to the
Verbunt & Zwaan prescription. We show that it is unlikely that the transient
behaviour of black-hole short-period X-ray binaries is explained by the evolved
nature of the stellar companion. A substantial fraction of black-hole binaries
with periods >3 hours could be faint with truncated, stable cold accretion
discs as proposed by Menou et al. Most of the semidetached black-hole binaries
are expected to have periods shorter than ~2 hours. Properties of such, still
to be observed, very small mass-ratio (q<0.02) binaries are different from
those of their longer period cousins.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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