X-Ray and Optical Observations of BL Hydri

Details X-Ray and Optical Observations of BL Hydri X-Ray and Optical Observations of BL Hydri

Nov 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999apj...526..435w&link_type=abstract

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 526, Issue 1, pp. 435-444.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

11

Stars: Novae, Cataclysmic Variables, Radiation Mechanisms: Nonthermal, Stars: Individual (Bl Hydri), Stars: White Dwarfs, X-Rays: Stars

Scientific paper

We acquired hard X-ray and unfiltered optical photometric data of the AM Herculis system BL Hydri. The X-ray data were obtained using the Proportional Counter Array detector of the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer satellite on 1997 October 17. The optical data were obtained using the 1.5 m telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory on 1997 September 24. At the time of our observations, BL Hyi was in an unusual high-luminosity state with average visual magnitude mV~14.4 and orbital phase-averaged 2-10 keV X-ray flux ~1.5x10-11 ergs cm-2 s-1, roughly 50% larger than had been seen previously. The X-ray light curves suggested that two accretion poles were active. The primary X-ray emission region was extended, covering ~45 deg in longitude on the white dwarf, while the secondary X-ray emission region was consistent with a point source with flux ~33% that of the primary region. The X-ray spectra were well fitted by absorbed bremsstrahlung with Gaussian emission-line models; and absorbed power law with Gaussian emission-line models. For the thermal models, the X-ray spectra were consistent with kTX~11 keV and an emission line at E~6.7-6.8 keV with equivalent width EW=0.86-1.2 keV. The absorbed power-law models had slope α~2.1 and an emission line at E=6.7-6.8 keV with EW=1.1-1.5 keV. The optical data showed, 2.7%+/-0.2% rms quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) over the frequency range 0.2-0.8 Hz modulated strongly on the orbital period suggesting that the QPOs were connected with the dominant accretion hot spot. We did not find corresponding QPOs in the X-ray emission for an upper limit of 20% rms. There were no detections of other short-period QPOs or coherent features in either the optical or the X-ray data. The X-ray and optical data were consistent with a radiative shock model. Based primarily on the X-ray continuum and line spectrum, we infer that the mass of the white dwarf in the BL Hyi system is 0.3-0.7 Msolar, depending on the relative cyclotron and hard X-ray luminosities.

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