How Evolved are the Mass Donor Stars inCataclysmic Variables?

Recent spectroscopic observations have identified several cataclysmic variables non-solar metal abundances. We present theoretical models which examine the level of core evolution expected for CV secondaries prior to contact. Our results indicate that few secondary stars evolve past 10% of their main sequence lifetime prior to the initiation of mass transfer; a result which is in agreement with present day observations. Thus, the non-solar metal abundances observed must be due to nuclear burning by-products accreted by the secondary star during common envelope sweeping prior to initial contact or ejecta collected during classical nova outbursts.Comment: To Appear in PAS

Fringe Science: Defringing CCD Images with Neon Lamp Flat Fields

Fringing in CCD images is troublesome from the aspect of photometric quality and image flatness in the final reduced product. Additionally, defringing during calibration requires the inefficient use of time during the night to collect and produce a "supersky" fringe frame. The fringe pattern observed in a CCD image for a given near-IR filter is dominated by small thickness variations across the detector with a second order effect caused by the wavelength extent of the emission lines within the bandpass which produce the interference pattern. We show that essentially any set of emission lines which generally match the wavelength coverage of the night sky emission lines within a bandpass will produce an identical fringe pattern. We present an easy, inexpensive, and efficient method which uses a neon lamp as a flat field source and produces high S/N fringe frames to use for defringing an image during the calibration process.Comment: accepted to PAS

Detecting Unresolved Binaries in TESS Data with Speckle Imaging

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is conducting a two-year wide-field survey searching for transiting exoplanets around nearby bright stars that will be ideal for follow-up characterization. To facilitate studies of planet compositions and atmospheric properties, accurate and precise planetary radii need to be derived from the transit light curves. Since 40 - 50% of exoplanet host stars are in multiple star systems, however, the observed transit depth may be diluted by the flux of a companion star, causing the radius of the planet to be underestimated. High angular resolution imaging can detect companion stars that are not resolved in the TESS Input Catalog, or by seeing-limited photometry, to validate exoplanet candidates and derive accurate planetary radii. We examine the population of stellar companions that will be detectable around TESS planet candidate host stars, and those that will remain undetected, by applying the detection limits of speckle imaging to the simulated host star populations of Sullivan et al. (2015) and Barclay et al. (2018). By detecting companions with contrasts of delta m < 7 - 9 and separations of ~0.02 - 1.2'', speckle imaging can detect companion stars as faint as early M stars around A - F stars and stars as faint as mid-M around G - M stars, as well as up to 99% of the expected binary star distribution for systems located within a few hundred parsecs.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal; 16 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

ST/STIS Spectroscopy of the White Dwarfs in the Short-Period Dwarf Novae LL And and EF Peg

We present new HST/STIS observations of the short-period dwarf novae LL And and EF Peg during deep quiescence. We fit stellar models to the UV spectra and use optical and IR observations to determine the physical parameters of the whitedwarfs in the systems, the distances to the binaries, and the properties of thesecondary stars. Both white dwarfs are relatively cool, having T_{eff} near 15000K, and consistent with a mass of 0.6 M-sun. The white dwarf in LL And appears to be of solar abundance or slightly lower while that in EF Peg is near 0.1-0.3 solar. LL And is found to be 760 pc away while EF Peg is closer at 380 pc. EF Peg appears to have an ~M5V secondary star, consistent with that expected for its orbital period, while the secondary object in LL And remains a mystery.Comment: Accepted in Ap

FRESIP project observations of cataclysmic variables: A unique opportunity

FRESIP Project observations of cataclysmic variables would provide unique data sets. In the study of known cataclysmic variables they would provide extended, well sampled temporal photometric information and in addition, they would provide a large area deep survey; obtaining a complete magnitude limited sample of the galaxy in the volume cone defined by the FRESIP field of view

Periodic Variables in the Open Cluster NGC 2301

We present the results of a search for periodic variables within 4078 time-series light curves and an analysis of the period-color plane for stars in the field of the open cluster NGC2301. One hundred thirty-eight periodic variables were discovered, of which five are eclipsing binary candidates with unequal minima. The remaining 133 periodic variables appear to consist mainly of late-type stars whose variation is due to rotation modulated by star spot activity. The determined periods range from less than a day to over 14 days and have nearly unreddened B-R colors in the range of 0.8 to 2.8. The Barnes (2003) interpretation of the period-color plane of late type stars is tested with our data. Our data did not show distinct I and C sequences, likely due to nonmember field stars contaminating in the background, as we estimate the total contamination to be 43%. Using different assumptions, the gyrochronological age of the cluster is calculated to be 210+/-25 Myr, which falls in the range of age values (164-250 Myr) determined by previous studies. Finally, we present evidence which nullifies the earlier suggestion that two of the variable stars in NGC2301 might be white dwarfs.Comment: 17pages, 12 figures, 3 table

On the M_V -- Inclination Relationship for Nova-like Variables

Using a sample of Nova-like stars from the Ritter and Kolb catalog, we examine the relationship between their Gaia determined absolute magnitude and the inclination of the binary system. Webbink et al. (1987) derived a relationship between these two variables that provides a good fit and allows differentiation between $\dot{M}$ (and possibly M_{WD}) as a function of inclination. We show that the spread in M_V, at a given i, is dominated by the mass transfer rate with only a small dependence on the white dwarf mass. The validated relation shows that present-day theoretical population studies of cataclysmic variables as well as model fits to observational data yield mass transfer rates and white dwarf masses consistent with the Gaia derived M_V for the nova-like stars.Comment: Accepted to A