We present a long-term programme for timing the eclipses of white dwarfs in close binaries to measure apparent and/or real variations in their orbital periods. Our programme includes 67 close ...binaries, both detached and semi-detached and with M-dwarfs, K-dwarfs, brown dwarfs or white dwarfs secondaries. In total, we have observed more than 650 white dwarf eclipses. We use this sample to search for orbital period variations and aim to identify the underlying cause of these variations. We find that the probability of observing orbital period variations increases significantly with the observational baseline. In particular, all binaries with baselines exceeding 10 yr, with secondaries of spectral type K2 – M5.5, show variations in the eclipse arrival times that in most cases amount to several minutes. In addition, among those with baselines shorter than 10 yr, binaries with late spectral type (>M6), brown dwarf or white dwarf secondaries appear to show no orbital period variations. This is in agreement with the so-called Applegate mechanism, which proposes that magnetic cycles in the secondary stars can drive variability in the binary orbits. We also present new eclipse times of NN Ser, which are still compatible with the previously published circumbinary planetary system model, although only with the addition of a quadratic term to the ephemeris. Finally, we conclude that we are limited by the relatively short observational baseline for many of the binaries in the eclipse timing programme, and therefore cannot yet draw robust conclusions about the cause of orbital period variations in evolved, white dwarf binaries.
Abstract
We present high-precision, model-independent, mass and radius measurements for 16 white dwarfs in detached eclipsing binaries and combine these with previously published data to test the ...theoretical white dwarf mass–radius relationship. We reach a mean precision of 2.4 per cent in mass and 2.7 per cent in radius, with our best measurements reaching a precision of 0.3 per cent in mass and 0.5 per cent in radius. We find excellent agreement between the measured and predicted radii across a wide range of masses and temperatures. We also find the radii of all white dwarfs with masses less than 0.48 M⊙ to be fully consistent with helium core models, but they are on average 9 per cent larger than those of carbon–oxygen core models. In contrast, white dwarfs with masses larger than 0.52 M⊙ all have radii consistent with carbon–oxygen core models. Moreover, we find that all but one of the white dwarfs in our sample have radii consistent with possessing thick surface hydrogen envelopes (10−5 ≥ M
H/M
WD ≥ 10−4), implying that the surface hydrogen layers of these white dwarfs are not obviously affected by common envelope evolution.
We present new time-resolved photometry of 74 cataclysmic variables (CVs), 47 of which are eclipsing. Thirteen of these eclipsing systems are newly discovered. For all 47 eclipsing systems, we show ...high cadence (1-20 s) light curves obtained with the high-speed cameras ULTRACAM and ULTRASPEC. We provide new or refined ephemerides, and supply mid-eclipse times for all observed eclipses. We assess the potential for light-curve modelling of all 47 eclipsing systems to determine their system parameters, finding 20 systems that appear to be suitable for future study. Systems of particular interest include V713 Cep, in which we observed a temporary switching-off of accretion; and ASASSN-14mv and CSS111019:233313-155744, which both have orbital periods well below the CV period minimum. The short orbital periods and light-curve shapes suggest that they may be double degenerate (AM CVn) systems or CVs with evolved donor stars.
We present high time resolution SDSS-g' and SDSS-z' light curves of the primary eclipse in SDSS J141126.20+200911.1, together with time-resolved X-Shooter spectroscopy and near-infrared (NIR) JHK... ...photometry. Our observations confirm the substellar nature of the companion, making SDSS J141126.20+200911.1 the first eclipsing white dwarf/brown dwarf binary known. We measure a (white dwarf model dependent) mass and radius for the brown dwarf companion of M... = 0.050 plus or minus 0.002 M... and R... = 0.072 plus or minus 0.004 M..., respectively. The lack of a robust detection of the companion light in the z'-band eclipse constrains the spectral type of the companion to be later than L5. Comparing the NIR photometry to the expected white dwarf flux reveals a clear K...-band excess, suggesting a spectral type in the range L7-T1. The radius measurement is consistent with the predictions of evolutionary models, and suggests a system age in excess of 3 Gyr. The low companion mass is inconsistent with the inferred spectral type of L7-T1, instead predicting a spectral type nearer T5. This indicates that irradiation of the companion in SDSS J141126.20+200911.1 could be causing a significant temperature increase, at least on one hemisphere. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Abstract
An observational constraint on the contribution of double degenerates to Type Ia supernovae requires multiple radial velocity measurements of ideally thousands of white dwarfs. This is ...because only a small fraction of the double degenerate population is massive enough, with orbital periods short enough, to be considered viable Type Ia progenitors. We show how the radial velocity information available from public surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey can be used to pre-select targets for variability, leading to a 10-fold reduction in observing time required compared to an unranked or random survey. We carry out Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the detection probability of various types of binaries in the survey and show that this method, even in the most pessimistic case, doubles the survey size of the largest survey to date (the SPY Survey) in less than 15 per cent of the required observing time. Our initial follow-up observations corroborate the method, yielding 15 binaries so far (eight known and seven new), as well as orbital periods for four of the new binaries.
We report on the search for new eclipsing white dwarf plus main-sequence (WDMS) binaries in the light curves of the Catalina surveys. We use a colour-selected list of almost 2000 candidate WDMS ...systems from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, specifically designed to identify WDMS systems with cool white dwarfs and/or early M-type main-sequence stars. We identify a total of 17 eclipsing systems, 14 of which are new discoveries. We also find three candidate eclipsing systems, two main-sequence eclipsing binaries and 22 non-eclipsing close binaries. Our newly discovered systems generally have optical fluxes dominated by the main-sequence components, which have earlier spectral types than the majority of previously discovered eclipsing systems. We find a large number of ellipsoidally variable binaries with similar periods, near 4 h, and spectral types M2–3, which are very close to Roche lobe filling. We also find that the fraction of eclipsing systems is lower than found in previous studies and likely reflects a lower close binary fraction among WDMS binaries with early M-type main-sequence stars due to their enhanced angular momentum loss compared to fully convective late M-type stars, hence causing them to become cataclysmic variables quicker and disappear from the WDMS sample. Our systems bring the total number of known detached, eclipsing WDMS binaries to 71.
ULTRASPEC is a high-speed imaging photometer mounted permanently at one of the Nasmyth focii of the 2.4-m Thai National Telescope (TNT) on Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest mountain. ULTRASPEC employs ...a 1024 × 1024 pixel frame-transfer, electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) in conjunction with re-imaging optics to image a field of 7.7 × 7.7 arcmin2 at (windowed) frame rates of up to ∼200 Hz. The EMCCD has two outputs – a normal output that provides a readout noise of 2.3 e− and an avalanche output that can provide essentially zero readout noise. A six-position filter wheel enables narrow-band and broad-band imaging over the wavelength range 330–1000 nm. The instrument saw first light on the TNT in 2013 November and will be used to study rapid variability in the Universe. In this paper we describe the scientific motivation behind ULTRASPEC, present an outline of its design and report on its measured performance on the TNT.
Human health is under constant threat of a wide variety of dangers, both self and nonself. The immune system is occupied with protecting the host against such dangers in order to preserve human ...health. For that purpose, the immune system is equipped with a diverse array of both cellular and non-cellular effectors that are in continuous communication with each other. The naturally occurring nucleotide adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its metabolite adenosine (Ado) probably constitute an intrinsic part of this extensive immunological network through purinergic signaling by their cognate receptors, which are widely expressed throughout the body. This review provides a thorough overview of the effects of ATP and Ado on major immune cell types. The overwhelming evidence indicates that ATP and Ado are important endogenous signaling molecules in immunity and inflammation. Although the role of ATP and Ado during the course of inflammatory and immune responses in vivo appears to be extremely complex, we propose that their immunological role is both interdependent and multifaceted, meaning that the nature of their effects may shift from immunostimulatory to immunoregulatory or vice versa depending on extracellular concentrations as well as on expression patterns of purinergic receptors and ecto-enzymes. Purinergic signaling thus contributes to the fine-tuning of inflammatory and immune responses in such a way that the danger to the host is eliminated efficiently with minimal damage to healthy tissues.
The majority of cataclysmic variable (CV) stars contain a stochastic noise component in their light curves, commonly referred to as flickering. This can significantly affect the morphology of CV ...eclipses and increases the difficulty in obtaining accurate system parameters with reliable errors through eclipse modelling. Here we introduce a new approach to eclipse modelling, which models CV flickering with the help of Gaussian processes (GPs). A parametrized eclipse model -- with an additional GP component -- is simultaneously fitted to eight eclipses of the dwarf nova ASASSN-14ag and system parameters determined. We obtain a mass ratio q = 0.149 plus or minus 0.016 and inclination ... The white dwarf and donor masses were found to be ... and ..., respectively. A white dwarf temperature ... and distance ... were determined through multicolour photometry. We find GPs to be an effective way of modelling flickering in CV light curves and plan to use this new eclipse modelling approach going forward. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
We present ULTRACAM photometry and X-Shooter spectroscopy of the eclipsing double white dwarf binary CSS 41177, the only such system that is also a double-lined spectroscopic binary. Combined ...modelling of the light curves and radial velocities yield masses and radii for both white dwarfs without the need to assume mass-radius relations. We find that the primary white dwarf has a mass of M
1 = 0.38 ± 0.02 M and a radius of R
1 = 0.0222 ± 0.0004 R. The secondary white dwarf's mass and radius are M
2 = 0.32 ± 0.01 M and R
2 = 0.0207 ± 0.0004 R, and its temperature and surface gravity (T
2 = 11678 ± 313 K, log(g
2) = 7.32 ± 0.02) put it close to the white dwarf instability strip. However, we find no evidence for pulsations to roughly 0.5 per cent relative amplitude. Both masses and radii are consistent with helium white dwarf models with thin hydrogen envelopes of ≤10−4
M
*. The two stars will merge in 1.14 ± 0.07 Gyr due to angular momentum loss via gravitational wave emission.
PDF
