Rapid oscillations in cataclysmic variables. III - an oblique rotator in an AE Aquarii

Details Rapid oscillations in cataclysmic variables. III - an oblique rotator in an AE Aquarii Rapid oscillations in cataclysmic variables. III - an oblique rotator in an AE Aquarii

Dec 1979

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1979apj...234..978p&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 234, Dec. 15, 1979, p. 978-992.

Other

158

Binary Stars, Orbital Mechanics, Stellar Models, Stellar Rotation, Variable Stars, Orbital Velocity, Periodic Variations, Stellar Luminosity, Stellar Mass, Stellar Mass Accretion, White Dwarf Stars

Scientific paper

A rapid, strictly periodic oscillation has been discovered in the light curve of the novalike variable AE Aquarii. The fundamental period is 33.076737 s, with comparable power at the first harmonic. The amplitude averages 0.2 - 0.3% but can exceed 1% in flares. Pulse timings around the binary orbit prove that the periodicity arises in the white dwarf, and lead to an accurate measurement of the projected orbital velocity. The velocity curve and other constraints lead to a mass determination for the component stars: 0.74 + or - 0.06 solar mass for the late-type star and 0.94 + or - 0.10 solar mass, for the white dwarf. Estimates are also given for the system dimensions, luminosity, distance, and mass transfer rate. Quasi-periodic oscillations are also detected in flares, and have periods near the coherent periods of 16.5 and 33 s. Their characteristics suggest an origin in gaseous blobs produced by instabilities near the inner edge of the accretion disk. A model is presented in which the strict periodicity arises from the rotation of an accreting, magnetized white dwarf, with a surface field of (1-10) 10 to the 6th gauss. Future spectroscopic, polarimetric, and X-ray observations should provide critical tests for predictions of the model.

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