1,796 research outputs found
Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of Circumbinary Dust Disks around Polars
We present Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC photometry of the magnetic cataclysmic variables EF Eri, MR Ser, VV Pup, V834 Cen, GG Leo and V347 Pav. When we combine our results with the 2MASS data, we find that at least five of the polars have flux densities in the mid-IR in excess of the emission expected from the stellar components alone. We are unable to model this mid-IR excess with cyclotron emission, but we can recreate the observed spectral energy distributions with the inclusion of a simple circumbinary dust disk model. Importantly, we find that the masses of our modelled disks are approximately 12 orders of magnitude lower than required to significantly affect CV evolution. The accretion disk-less polars are ideal places to search for these disks, since the luminous accretion disk in most CVs would drown out the faint IR signature of the cooler, dimmer circumbinary disks
Outbursts of EX Hydrae Revisited
We present optical spectroscopy of EX Hya during its 1991 outburst. This
outburst is characterised by strong irradiation of the front face of the
secondary star by the white dwarf, an overflowing stream which is seen strongly
in HeII and by a dip in the light curves, which extends from 0.1-0.6 in the
binary and spin phases. Strong irradiation of the accretion curtain and that of
the inner regions of the disc led to strong emission of HeII and to the
suppression of the Hg and Hb emission.
Disc overflow was observed in quiescence in earlier studies, where the
overflow stream material was modulated at high velocities close to 1000 km/s.
In outburst, the overflowing material is modulated at even higher velocities
(~1500 km/s). These are streaming velocities down the field lines close to the
white dwarf. Evidence for material collecting near the outer edge of the disc
and corotating with the accretion curtain was observed. In decline, this
material and the accretion curtain obscured almost all the emission near binary
phase 0.4, causing a dip. The dip minimum nearly corresponds with spin pulse
minimum. This has provided additional evidence for an extended accretion
curtain, and for the corotation of material with the accretion curtain at the
outer edge of the disc. From these observations we suggest that a mechanism
similar to that of Spruit & Taam, where outbursts result due to the storage and
release of matter outside the magnetosphere, triggers the outbursts of EX Hya.
This is followed by the irradiation of the secondary star due to accretion
induced radiation.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, 1 table. Figures 6, 7, 8 and 11 at low
resolution. Paper accepted by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Societ
Stellar Parameters for HD 69830, a Nearby Star with Three Neptune Mass Planets and an Asteroid Belt
We used the CHARA Array to directly measure the angular diameter of HD 69830,
home to three Neptune mass planets and an asteroid belt. Our measurement of
0.674+/-0.014 milli-arcseconds for the limb-darkened angular diameter of this
star leads to a physical radius of R = 0.90580.0190 R\sun and
luminosity of L* = 0.622+/-0.014 Lsun when combined with a fit to the spectral
energy distribution of the star. Placing these observed values on an
Hertzsprung-Russel (HR) diagram along with stellar evolution isochrones
produces an age of 10.6+/-4 Gyr and mass of 0.8630.043 M\sun. We use
archival optical echelle spectra of HD 69830 along with an iterative spectral
fitting technique to measure the iron abundance ([Fe/H]=-0.04+/-0.03),
effective temperature (5385+/-44 K) and surface gravity (log g = 4.49+/-0.06).
We use these new values for the temperature and luminosity to calculate a more
precise age of 7.5+/-Gyr. Applying the values of stellar luminosity and radius
to recent models on the optimistic location of the habitable zone produces a
range of 0.61-1.44 AU; partially outside the orbit of the furthest known planet
(d) around HD 69830. Finally, we estimate the snow line at a distance of
1.95+/-0.19 AU, which is outside the orbit of all three planets and its
asteroid belt.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted to Ap
Young Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in IC 348
I present new results from a continuing program to identify and characterize
the low-mass stellar and substellar populations in the young cluster IC 348
(1-10~Myr). Optical spectroscopy has revealed young objects with spectral types
as late as M8.25. The intrinsic J-H and H-K colors of these sources are
dwarf-like, whereas the R-I and I-J colors appear intermediate between the
colors of dwarfs and giants. Furthermore, the spectra from 6500 to 9500 A are
reproduced well with averages of standard dwarf and giant spectra, suggesting
that such averages should be used in the classification of young late-type
sources. An H-R diagram is constructed for the low-mass population in IC 348
(K6-M8). The presumably coeval components of the young quadruple system GG~Tau
(White et al.) and the locus of stars in IC 348 are used as empirical
isochrones to test the theoretical evolutionary models. For the models of
Baraffe et al., an adjustment of the temperature scale to progressively warmer
temperatures at later M types, intermediate between dwarfs and giants, brings
all components of GG~Tau onto the same model isochrone and gives the population
of IC 348 a constant age and age spread as a function of mass. When other
observational constraints are considered, such as the dynamical masses of
GM~Aur, DM~Tau, and GG~Tau~A, the models of Baraffe et al. are the most
consistent with observations of young systems. With compatible temperature
scales, the models of both D'Antona & Mazzitelli and Baraffe et al. suggest
that the hydrogen burning mass limit occurs near M6 at ages of <10 Myr. Thus,
several likely brown dwarfs are discovered in this study of IC 348, with masses
down to ~20-30 M_J.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, accepted to Ap
Spectroscopic binaries among Hipparcos M giants II. Binary frequency
This paper is the second one in a series devoted to the study of properties
of binaries involving M giants. The binary frequency of field M giants is
derived and compared with the binary fraction of K giants. Diagrams of the
CORAVEL spectroscopic parameter Sb (measuring the average line-width) vs.
radial-velocity standard deviation for our samples are used to define
appropriate binarity criteria. These then serve to extract the binarity
fraction among the M giants. Comparison is made to earlier data on K giants
binarity frequency. The Sb parameter is discussed in relation to global stellar
parameters and the Sb vs. stellar radius relation is used to identify fast
rotators. We find that the spectroscopic binary detection rate among field M
giants, in a sample with a low number of velocity measurements (~2), unbiased
toward earlier known binaries, is 6.3%. This is less than half of the analogous
rate for field K giants, likely resulting from a real difference. This
difference originates in the greater difficulty of finding binaries among M
giants because of their smaller orbital velocity amplitudes and larger
intrinsic jitter and in the different distributions of K and M giants in the
eccentricity-period diagram. A larger detection rate was obtained in a smaller
M giant sample with more radial velocity measurements per object: 11.1%
confirmed plus 2.7% possible binaries. The CORAVEL spectroscopic parameter Sb
was found to correlate better with the stellar radius than with either
luminosity or effective temperature separately. Two outliers of the Sb vs.
stellar radius relation, HD 190658 and HD 219654, have been recognized as fast
rotators. The rotation is companion-induced, as both objects turn out to be
spectroscopic binaries.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, language
editing changes onl
Follow-Up Observations of PTFO 8-8695: A 3 MYr Old T-Tauri Star Hosting a Jupiter-mass Planetary Candidate
We present Spitzer 4.5\micron\ light curve observations, Keck NIRSPEC radial
velocity observations, and LCOGT optical light curve observations of
PTFO~8-8695, which may host a Jupiter-sized planet in a very short orbital
period (0.45 days). Previous work by \citet{vaneyken12} and \citet{barnes13}
predicts that the stellar rotation axis and the planetary orbital plane should
precess with a period of days. As a consequence, the observed
transits should change shape and depth, disappear, and reappear with the
precession. Our observations indicate the long-term presence of the transit
events ( years), and that the transits indeed do change depth, disappear
and reappear. The Spitzer observations and the NIRSPEC radial velocity
observations (with contemporaneous LCOGT optical light curve data) are
consistent with the predicted transit times and depths for the $M_\star = 0.34\
M_\odot$ precession model and demonstrate the disappearance of the transits. An
LCOGT optical light curve shows that the transits do reappear approximately 1
year later. The observed transits occur at the times predicted by a
straight-forward propagation of the transit ephemeris. The precession model
correctly predicts the depth and time of the Spitzer transit and the lack of a
transit at the time of the NIRSPEC radial velocity observations. However, the
precession model predicts the return of the transits approximately 1 month
later than observed by LCOGT. Overall, the data are suggestive that the
planetary interpretation of the observed transit events may indeed be correct,
but the precession model and data are currently insufficient to confirm firmly
the planetary status of PTFO~8-8695b.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Spitzer Space Telescope observations of magnetic cataclysmic variables: possibilities for the presence of dust in polars
We present Spitzer Space Telescope photometry of six short-period polars, EF
Eri, V347 Pav, VV Pup, V834 Cen, GG Leo, and MR Ser. We have combined the
Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (3.6 -8.0 microns) data with the 2MASS J, H, K_s
photometry to construct the spectral energy distributions of these systems from
the near- to mid-IR (1.235 - 8 microns). We find that five out of the six
polars have flux densities in the mid-IR that are substantially in excess of
the values expected from the stellar components alone. We have modeled the
observed SEDs with a combination of contributions from the white dwarf,
secondary star, and either cyclotron emission or a cool, circumbinary dust disk
to fill in the long-wavelength excess. We find that a circumbinary dust disk is
the most likely cause of the 8 micron excess in all cases, but we have been
unable to rule out the specific (but unlikely) case of completely optically
thin cyclotron emission as the source of the observed 8 micron flux density.
While both model components can generate enough flux at 8 microns, neither dust
nor cyclotron emission alone can match the excess above the stellar components
at all wavelengths. A model combining both cyclotron and dust contributions,
possibly with some accretion-generated flux in the near-IR, is probably
required, but our observed SEDs are not sufficiently well-sampled to constrain
such a complicated model. If the 8 micron flux density is caused by the
presence of a circumbinary dust disk, then our estimates of the masses of these
disks are many orders of magnitude below the mass required to affect CV
evolution.Comment: 58 pages, 14 figures, ApJ accepte
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