Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 1981
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981apj...245..618p&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 245, Apr. 15, 1981, p. 618-623.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
52
Eclipsing Binary Stars, Light Curve, Stellar Radiation, White Dwarf Stars, X Ray Sources, Circular Polarization, Earth Magnetosphere, Power Spectra, Pulsed Radiation, Stellar Atmospheres, Stellar Luminosity, Stellar Mass Accretion, Stellar Spectra
Scientific paper
The X-ray light curve of the AM Herculis-type binary 2A 0311-227 is presented. A smooth modulation of the X-ray flux at the orbital period is obtained, along with an eclipse feature that is total for 0.1-0.8 keV photons yet not visible for photons above about 3 keV. This strong and smooth dependence on energy suggests an origin in the obscuration of the X-ray emitting region by a column of accreting gas. Furthermore, very strong quasi-periodic pulsations with a period of about 6 min are found in the soft X-ray light curve. This periodicity is also present in the optical and hard X-ray light curves, and in the circular polarization data. It seems likely that the periodicity arises from a modulation of the mass accretion rate onto the white dwarf, and possible that it originates in pulsations of a disk-magnetosphere boundary.
Hiltner William A.
Patterson Jaclyn
Williams George G.
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