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

Technical management techniques for identification and control of industrial safety and pollution hazards

Constructive recommendations are suggested for pollution problems from offshore energy resources industries on outer continental shelf. Technical management techniques for pollution identification and control offer possible applications to space engineering and management

Nova-like Cataclysmic Variables in the Infrared

Novalike cataclysmic variables have persistently high mass transfer rates and prominent steady state accretion disks. We present an analysis of infrared observations of twelve novalikes obtained from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer All Sky Survey. The presence of an infrared excess at >3-5 microns over the expectation of a theoretical steady state accretion disk is ubiquitous in our sample. The strength of the infrared excess is not correlated with orbital period, but shows a statistically significant correlation (but shallow trend) with system inclination that might be partially (but not completely) linked to the increasing view of the cooler outer accretion disk and disk rim at higher inclinations. We discuss the possible origin of the infrared excess in terms of emission from bremsstrahlung or circumbinary dust, with either mechanism facilitated by the mass outflows (e.g., disk wind/corona, accretion stream overflow, and so on) present in novalikes. Our comparison of the relative advantages and disadvantages of either mechanism for explaining the observations suggests that the situation is rather ambiguous, largely circumstantial, and in need of stricter observational constraints.Peer reviewe

A Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Study of the Accreting Magnetic White Dwarf SDSS J121209.31+013627.7 and its Substellar Companion

The nature of the excess near-infrared emission associated with the magnetic white dwarf commonly known as SDSS 1212 is investigated primarily through spectroscopy, and also via photometry. The inferred low mass secondary in this system has been previously detected by the emission and variation of H$\alpha$, and the $1-2.5$ $\mu$m spectral data presented here are consistent with the presence of a late L or early T dwarf. The excess flux seen beyond 1.5 $\mu$m in the phase-averaged spectrum is adequately modeled with an L8 dwarf substellar companion and cyclotron emission in a 7 MG magnetic field. This interesting system manifests several observational properties typical of polars, and is most likely an old interacting binary with a magnetic white dwarf and a substellar donor in an extended low state.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, Accepted to Ap

A Serendipitous XMM-Newton Observation of the Intermediate Polar WX Pyx

We briefly describe a serendipitous observation of the little-studied intermediate polar WX Pyx using XMM-Newton. The X-ray spin period is 1557.3 sec, confirming the optical period published in 1996. An orbital period of approximately 5.54 hr is inferred from the separation of the spin-orbit sidelobe components. The soft and hard band spin-folded light curves are nearly sinusoidal in shape. The best-fit spectrum is consistent with a bremsstrahlung temperature of about 18 keV. An upper limit of approximately 300 eV is assigned to the presence of Fe line emission. WX Pyx lies near TX and TV Col in the P_spin-P_orb plane.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figs; accepted A&A 2004 Dec

"Dark Matter" in Accretion Disks

Using Spitzer Space Telescope photometric observations of the eclipsing, interacting binary WZ Sge, we have discovered that the accretion disk is far more complex than previously believed. Our 4.5 and 8 micron time series observations reveal that the well known gaseous accretion disk is surrounded by an asymmetric disk of dusty material with a radius approximately 15 times larger than the gaseous disk. This dust ring contains only a small amount of mass and is completely invisible at optical and near-IR wavelengths, hence consisting of "dark matter". We have produced a model dust ring using 1 micron spherical particles with a density of 3 g/cm$^3$ and with a temperature profile ranging from 700-1500K. Our discovery about the accretion disk structure and the presence of a larger, outer dust ring have great relevance for accretion disks in general, including those in other interacting binary systems, pre-main sequence stars, and active galaxies.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures (3 in color). Accepted to Ap

Simultaneous X-ray and Ultraviolet Observations of the SW Sextantis Star DW Ursae Majoris

We present the first pointed X-ray observation of DW Ursae Majoris, a novalike cataclysmic variable (CV) and one of the archetype members of the SW Sextantis class, obtained with the XMM-Newton satellite. These data provide the first detailed look at an SW Sex star in the X-ray regime (with previous X-ray knowledge of the SW Sex stars limited primarily to weak or non-detections in the ROSAT All Sky Survey). It is also one of only a few XMM-Newton observations (to date) of any high mass transfer rate novalike CV, and the only one in the evolutionarily important 3-4 hr orbital period range. The observed X-ray spectrum of DW UMa is very soft, with ~95% of the detected X-ray photons at energies <2 keV. The spectrum can be fit equally well by a one-component cooling flow model, with a temperature range of 0.2-3.5 keV, or a two-component, two-temperature thermal plasma model, containing hard (~5-6 keV) and soft (~0.8 keV) components. The X-ray light curve of DW UMa shows a likely partial eclipse, implying X-ray reprocessing in a vertically extended region, and an orbital modulation, implying a structural asymmetry in the X-ray reprocessing site (e.g., it cannot be a uniform corona). We also obtained a simultaneous near-ultraviolet light curve of DW UMa using the Optical Monitor on XMM-Newton. This light curve is similar in appearance to published optical-UV light curves of DW UMa and shows a prominent deep eclipse. Regardless of the exact nature of the X-ray reprocessing site in DW UMa, the lack of a prominent hard X-ray total eclipse and very low fraction of high energy X-rays point to the presence of an optically and geometrically thick accretion disk that obscures the boundary layer and modifies the X-ray spectrum emitted near the white dwarf

Cool Companions to White Dwarf Stars from the Two Micron All Sky Survey All Sky Data Release

We present the culmination of our near-infrared survey of the optically spectroscopically identified white dwarf stars from the McCook and Sion catalog, conducted using photometric data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey final All Sky Data Release. The color selection technique, which identifies candidate binaries containing a white dwarf and a low-mass stellar (or substellar) companion via their distinctive locus in the near-infrared color-color diagram, is demonstrated to be simple to apply and to yield candidates with a high rate of subsequent confirmation. We recover 105 confirmed binaries, and identify 27 firm candidates (19 of which are new to this work) and 21 tentative candidates (17 of which are new to this work) from the 2MASS data. Only a small number of candidates from our survey have likely companion spectral types later than M5, none of which is an obvious L-type (i.e., potential brown dwarf) companion. Only one previously known white dwarf + brown dwarf binary is detected. This result is discussed in the context of the 2MASS detection limits, as well as other recent observational surveys that suggest a very low rate of formation (or survival) for binary stars with extreme mass ratios