X-Ray Emission from Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables and White Dwarf Mass Estimates

1995 ◽  
Vol 455 ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinwah Wu ◽  
G. Chanmugam ◽  
G. Shaviv
1996 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 309-316
Author(s):  
Frits Paerels ◽  
Min Young Hur ◽  
Christopher W. Mauche

A longstanding problem in the interpretation of the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet emission from strongly magnetic cataclysmic variables can be addressed definitively with high resolution EUV spectroscopy. A detailed photospheric spectrum of the accretion-heated polar cap of the white dwarf is sensitive in principle to the temperature structure of the atmosphere. This may allow us to determine where and how the bulk of the accretion energy is thermalized. The EUVE data on AM Herculis and EF Eridani are presented and discussed in this context.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 97-100
Author(s):  
M. Ishida ◽  
R. Fujimoto

Accreting magnetic white dwarfs are usually found as component stars in Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (MCVs), in which a white dwarf with B = 105-8 G accepts mass from a late type (secondary) star via Roche Lobe overflow. Matter from the secondary is funneled by the magnetic field and concentrates on the magnetic pole(s) of the white dwarf. Since the accretion flow becomes highly supersonic, a standing shock wave is formed close to the white dwarf. The temperature of the plasma at the shock front reflects the gravitational potential and can be denoted as a function of the mass (M) and the radius (R) of the white dwarf as: Note here that the height of the shock is expected to be within 10% of the white dwarf radius, and hence neglected here.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (06) ◽  
pp. 797-803
Author(s):  
ILEANA ANDRUCHOW ◽  
NICOLA MASETTI ◽  
DOMITILLA DE MARTINO ◽  
SERGIO A. CELLONE ◽  
ELENA MASON ◽  
...  

Thanks to the combination of hard X–ray data afforded with the INTEGRAL satellite and optical spectroscopy at various telescopes, a number of new, possibly magnetic, Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) has been recently discovered. We here report on the preliminary analysis of B-band optical photometry performed with the 2.15m "Jorge Sahade" telescope at CASLEO (Argentina) on 5 CVs discovered at hard X–rays with INTEGRAL and which show features of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) in their optical spectra. The aim of these observations is to derive the orbital periods of these systems and the spin periodicity of their accreting WD.


1996 ◽  
Vol 158 ◽  
pp. 273-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. van Teeseling ◽  
F. Verbunt ◽  
K. Beuermann

In non-magnetic cataclysmic variables the accreted matter forms an accretion disk around the white dwarf. In the boundary layer between the white dwarf and the accretion disk the accreted matter decelerates from Keplerian velocities to the rotation velocity of the white dwarf. If the accretion rate is high the boundary layer would be optically thick and cool (T ~ 105K), and if the accretion rate is low the boundary layer would be optically thin and hot (T ~ 108K) (Pringle & Savonije 1979).There are several observational problems with this simple picture: a soft X-ray component could only be detected so far in 5 dwarf novae in outburst and not in any nova-like variable. Also in high-accretion-rate systems there is a hot optically thin X-ray source, which has, however, an X-ray luminosity which is much less than the UV luminosity of the system (van Teeseling & Verbunt 1994). Finally, there is evidence for orbital modulation in the X-rays from some systems (e.g. van Teeseling et al. 1995).


2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3457-3469
Author(s):  
A W Shaw ◽  
C O Heinke ◽  
K Mukai ◽  
J A Tomsick ◽  
V Doroshenko ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The hard X-ray spectrum of magnetic cataclysmic variables can be modelled to provide a measurement of white dwarf mass. This method is complementary to radial velocity measurements, which depend on the (typically rather uncertain) binary inclination. Here, we present results from a Legacy Survey of 19 magnetic cataclysmic variables with NuSTAR. We fit accretion column models to their 20–78 keV spectra and derive the white dwarf masses, finding a weighted average $\bar{M}_{\rm WD}=0.77\pm 0.02$ M⊙, with a standard deviation σ = 0.10 M⊙, when we include the masses derived from previous NuSTAR observations of seven additional magnetic cataclysmic variables. We find that the mass distribution of accreting magnetic white dwarfs is consistent with that of white dwarfs in non-magnetic cataclysmic variables. Both peak at a higher mass than the distributions of isolated white dwarfs and post-common-envelope binaries. We speculate as to why this might be the case, proposing that consequential angular momentum losses may play a role in accreting magnetic white dwarfs and/or that our knowledge of how the white dwarf mass changes over accretion–nova cycles may also be incomplete.


1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyn F. Tennant ◽  
Kinwah Wu ◽  
Stephen L. O'Dell ◽  
Martin C. Weisskopf

AbstractWe present simulated AXAF spectra of accreting white dwarfs, using parameters appropriate for magnetic cataclysmic variables. The very high spectral resolution that can be obtained with the High-Energy Transmission Grating of AXAF can resolve the keV X-ray emission lines that characterise the temperature, density and velocity profiles of the shock-heated emission regions of these systems. These simulations demonstrate that actual spectra will allow us to place constraints on the white-dwarf mass and the accretion rate of the systems. The high-resolution spectra also allow the measurement of the velocity of the accretion flow in regions close to the white-dwarf surface.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S281) ◽  
pp. 186-189
Author(s):  
Koji Mukai ◽  
Jennifer L. Sokoloski ◽  
Thomas Nelson ◽  
Gerardo J. M. Luna

AbstractWe present recent results of quiescent X-ray observations of recurrent novae (RNe) and related objects. Several RNe are luminous hard X-ray sources in quiescence, consistent with accretion onto a near Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf. Detection of similar hard X-ray emissions in old novae and other cataclysmic variables may lead to identification of additional RNe candidates. On the other hand, other RNe are found to be comparatively hard X-ray faint. We present several scenarios that may explain this dichotomy, which should be explored further.


Nature ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 308 (5959) ◽  
pp. 519-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. King ◽  
G. Shaviv

1987 ◽  
Vol 93 ◽  
pp. 225-233
Author(s):  
H. Van Der Woerd

AbstractEXOSAT observations of a large sample of non-magnetic cataclysmic variables have led to the detection of VW Hyi and OY Car as strong soft X-ray sources during superoutburst. The spectral characteristics of the X-ray emission of these SU Uma systems are compared. It is proposed that both systems have, besides a cool, optically thick boundary layer, an extended hot, optically thin corona.


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