Orbital Period of the Low-Inclination SW Sextantis Star V442 Ophiuchi

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

18

Accretion, Accretion Disks, Stars: Novae, Cataclysmic Variables, Stars: Individual (V795 Herculis, V442 Ophiuchi, Ls Pegasi)

Scientific paper

V442 Ophiuchi is a low-inclination (noneclipsing) nova-like cataclysmic variable. We have obtained medium resolution (1-3.5 Å), time-resolved optical spectroscopy of this interacting binary star spanning an interval of 4 yr, from 1995 August to 1999 June. Using an Hα radial velocity curve constructed from our combined spectroscopic data sets, we have determined that Porb=0.1243 days for V442 Oph, breaking the long-standing 1 day alias ambiguity in its orbital period. V442 Oph shares many of the characteristics of the group of cataclysmic variables known as the SW Sextantis stars. Its Doppler tomograms and orbital phase-dependent emission-line behavior, including the occurrence of a prominent transient absorption event, are consistent with those of other SW Sex stars. V442 Oph also displays single-peaked rather than double-peaked emission lines, strong He II λ4686 emission, and a phase offset of +0.08 between the Hα emission-line radial velocities and the phasing of He II. We discuss the role of V442 Oph as one of three known low-inclination examples of SW Sex stars. Like the other low-inclination SW Sex stars, LS Pegasi and V795 Herculis, the Balmer emission lines in V442 Oph have high velocity components that extend to ~+/-1900 km s-1 and follow an apparent S-wave pattern in the trailed spectrum. Finally, we compare two models for the SW Sex stars involving accretion stream overflow, in the context of a low-inclination system in which our line of sight likely extends over the entire face of the disk. Based on data obtained using the 2.4 m Hiltner telescope of the Michigan-Dartmouth-M.I.T. Observatory and the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Orbital Period of the Low-Inclination SW Sextantis Star V442 Ophiuchi does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Orbital Period of the Low-Inclination SW Sextantis Star V442 Ophiuchi, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Orbital Period of the Low-Inclination SW Sextantis Star V442 Ophiuchi will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1717725

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.