Waves In Accretion Disks, Observed With Fresno State'S Station At Sierra Remote Observatories: Hv Andromedae, Lq Pegasi, And Ln Ursae Majoris

Details Waves In Accretion Disks, Observed With Fresno State'S Station At Sierra Remote Observatories: Hv Andromedae, Lq Pegasi, And Ln Ursae Majoris Waves In Accretion Disks, Observed With Fresno State'S Station At Sierra Remote Observatories: Hv Andromedae, Lq Pegasi, And Ln Ursae Majoris

Jan 2012

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21934820r&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #348.20

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We present observations of three cataclysmic variable stars: HV Andromedae, LQ Pegasi, and LN Ursae Majoris. A cataclysmic variable star is a binary star system composed of a red dwarf orbiting a white dwarf. These stars orbit closely, typically in
3-4 hours. Due to this close orbit, gas spills from the red dwarf into orbit around the white dwarf. This forms an accretion disk. Accretion disks are found throughout the Universe: from planetary formation, Saturn's rings, black holes that swallow stars, to the Milky Way's spiral structure. Our goal in studying these three cataclysmic variables was to search for evidence of waves, warping, or bending of their accretion disks.
Photometry is the study of how the brightness of an object changes over time. With cataclysmic variables much of the fluctuation in brightness is from the accretion disk. We collected time-resolved differential photometry of three cataclysmic variables using Fresno State's remotely controlled telescope at Sierra Remote Observatories. After measuring our photometry, we searched for waves in the data.
We have surprising results for each of the stars studied. All of these objects have prominent low-frequency periodicities not seen in the literature. This can be attributed to Fresno State's Remote Observatory's ability to observe stars for extended periods of time. We found strong evidence for both warping and bending waves in LQ Pegasi. In LN Ursae Majoris, we discovered apparently chaotic behavior, with the low-frequency wave changing significantly in just under a month. We also see clear evidence for short-period waves in HV Andromedae, also with some rumbling at low frequencies. Our observations of these three cataclysmic variables, especially of LN Ursae Majoris, warrant further study in the form of radial-velocity studies.

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