Emission from the Secondary Star in the Old Cataclysmic Variable WZ Sagittae

Details Emission from the Secondary Star in the Old Cataclysmic Variable WZ Sagittae Emission from the Secondary Star in the Old Cataclysmic Variable WZ Sagittae

Dec 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001apj...562l.145s&link_type=abstract

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 562, Issue 2, pp. L145-L148.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

43

Accretion, Accretion Disks, Stars: Novae, Cataclysmic Variables, Stars: Individual: Constellation Name: Wz Sagittae

Scientific paper

We present the first detection of the mass donor star in the cataclysmic variable WZ Sagittae. Phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals narrow Balmer emission components from the irradiated secondary star during the 2001 outburst. Its radial velocity curve indicates a systemic velocity of -72+/-3 km s-1 and an apparent velocity amplitude of K'2=493+/-10 km s-1. Doppler tomography reveals a highly asymmetric accretion disk including a significant bright spot contribution 20 days into the outburst. We estimate the apparent primary radial velocity using the Hα tomogram and find K'1=37+/-5 km s-1. Accounting for the likely systematic errors affecting both K1 and K2 measurements, we conservatively derive 493 km s-10.70 Msolar and a low-mass secondary with M2<0.11 Msolar. A nondegenerate mass donor, implying WZ Sge has not yet evolved through its minimum period, is therefore not ruled out by our observations. This would require an improved estimate of K1.

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