ABSTRACT
A transient in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822 (Barnard’s Galaxy) was discovered on 2017 August 2 and is only the second classical nova discovered in that galaxy. We ...conducted optical, near-ultraviolet, and X-ray follow-up observations of the eruption, the results of which we present here. This ‘very fast’ nova had a peak V-band magnitude in the range −7.41 > MV > −8.33 mag, with decline times of t2,V = 8.1 ± 0.2 d and t3,V = 15.2 ± 0.3 d. The early- and late-time spectra are consistent with an Fe ii spectral class. The H α emission line initially has a full width at half-maximum intensity of ∼2400 km s−1 – a moderately fast ejecta velocity for the class. The H α line then narrows monotonically to ∼1800 km s−1 by 70 d post-eruption. The lack of a pre-eruption coincident source in archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging implies that the donor is a main-sequence, or possibly subgiant, star. The relatively low-peak luminosity and rapid decline hint that AT 2017fvz may be a ‘faint and fast’ nova.
We report the discovery of eclipses and the first orbital period measurements for four cataclysmic variables, plus the first orbital period measurements for one known eclipsing and two magnetic ...systems. SDSS J093537.46+161950.8 exhibits 1 mag deep eclipses with a period of 92.245 min. SDSS J105754.25+275947.5 has short and deep eclipses and an orbital period of 90.44 min. Its light curve has no trace of a bright spot and its spectrum is dominated by the white dwarf component, suggesting a low mass accretion rate and a very low-mass and cool secondary star. CSS J132536+210037 shows 1 mag deep eclipses each separated by 89.821 min. SDSS J075653.11+085831.8 shows 2 mag deep eclipses on a period of 197.154 min. CSS J112634-100210 is an eclipsing dwarf nova identified in the Catalina Real Time Transit Survey, for which we measure a period of 111.523 min. SDSS J092122.84+203857.1 is a magnetic system with an orbital period of 84.240 min; its light curve is a textbook example of cyclotron beaming. A period of 158.72 min is found for the faint magnetic system SDSS J132411.57+032050.4, whose orbital light variations are reminiscent of AM Her. Improved orbital period measurements are also given for three known SDSS cataclysmic variables. We investigate the orbital period distribution and fraction of eclipsing systems within the SDSS sample and for all cataclysmic variables with a known orbital period, with the finding that the fraction of known CVs which are eclipsing is not strongly dependent on the orbital period.
We report the discovery and monitoring of the near-infrared counterpart (AT2017gfo) of a binary neutron-star merger event detected as a gravitational wave source by Advanced Laser Interferometer ...Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo (GW170817) and as a short gamma-ray burst by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Integral SPI-ACS (GRB 170817A). The evolution of the transient light is consistent with predictions for the behavior of a "kilonova/macronova" powered by the radioactive decay of massive neutron-rich nuclides created via r-process nucleosynthesis in the neutron-star ejecta. In particular, evidence for this scenario is found from broad features seen in Hubble Space Telescope infrared spectroscopy, similar to those predicted for lanthanide-dominated ejecta, and the much slower evolution in the near-infrared K s -band compared to the optical. This indicates that the late-time light is dominated by high-opacity lanthanide-rich ejecta, suggesting nucleosynthesis to the third r-process peak (atomic masses A 195 ). This discovery confirms that neutron-star mergers produce kilo-/macronovae and that they are at least a major-if not the dominant-site of rapid neutron capture nucleosynthesis in the universe.
The AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries are a rare group of hydrogen-deficient, ultrashort period, mass-transferring white dwarf binaries and are possible progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. We ...present time-resolved spectroscopy of the recently discovered AM CVn binary SDSS J173047.59+554518.5. The average spectrum shows strong double-peaked helium emission lines, as well as a variety of metal lines, including neon; this is the second detection of neon in an AM CVn binary, after the much brighter system GP Com. We detect no calcium in the accretion disc, a puzzling feature that has been noted in many of the longer period AM CVn binaries. We measure an orbital period, from the radial velocities of the emission lines, of 35.2 ± 0.2 min, confirming the ultracompact binary nature of the system. The emission lines seen in SDSS J1730 are very narrow, although double-peaked, implying a low-inclination, face-on accretion disc; using the measured velocities of the line peaks, we estimate i ≤ 11°. This low inclination makes SDSS J1730 an excellent system for the identification of emission lines.
We present multiwavelength observations of the helium-dominated accreting binary KL Dra which has an orbital period of 25 min. Our ground-based optical monitoring programme using the Liverpool ...Telescope has revealed KL Dra to show frequent outbursts. Although our coverage is not uniform, our observations are consistent with the outbursts recurring on a time-scale of ∼60 d. Observations made using Swift show that the outbursts occur with a similar amplitude and duration (2 weeks) at both UV and optical energies. Although KL Dra is a weak X-ray source, we find no significant evidence that the X-ray flux varies over the course of an outburst cycle. We can reproduce the main features of the 60-d outburst cycle using the disc instability model and a helium-dominated accretion flow. Although the outbursts of KL Dra are very similar to those of the hydrogen-accreting dwarf novae, we cannot exclude the fact that they are the AM CVn equivalent of WZ Sge-type outbursts. With outbursts occurring every ∼ 2 months, KL Dra is an excellent target to study helium-dominated accretion flows in general.
We have discovered a pulsating DA white dwarf at the lower end of the temperature range 45 000-30 000 K where a few helium atmosphere white dwarfs are known. There are now three such pulsators known, ...suggesting that a new class of theoretically predicted pulsating white dwarf stars exists. We name them the hot DAV stars. From high-speed photometric observations with the ULTRACAM photometer on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope, we show that the hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf star WD1017−138 pulsates in at least one mode with a frequency of 1.62 mHz (a period of 624 s). The amplitude of that mode was near 1 mmag at a 10σ confidence level on one night of observation and an 8.4σ confidence level on a second night. The combined data have a confidence level of 11.8σ. This supports the two other detections of hot DAV stars previously reported. From three Very Large Telescope Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph spectra we confirm also that WD1017−138 is a hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf with no trace of helium or metals with T
eff = 32 600 K, log g = 7.8 (cgs) and M = 0.55 M. The existence of pulsations in these DA white dwarfs at the cool edge of the 45 000-30 000 K temperature range supports the thin hydrogen layer model for the deficit of helium atmosphere white dwarfs in this range. DA white dwarfs with thick hydrogen layers do not have the superadiabatic, chemically inhomogeneous (μ-gradient) zone that drives pulsation in this temperature range. The potential for higher amplitude hot DAV stars exists; their discovery would open the possibility of a direct test of the explanation for the deficit of helium atmosphere white dwarfs at these temperatures by asteroseismic probing of the atmospheric layers of the hot DAV stars. A search for pulsation in a further 22 candidates with ULTRACAM on the European Southern Observatory New Technology Telescope gave null results for pulsation at precisions in the range 0.5-3 mmag, suggesting that the pulsation amplitudes in such stars are relatively low, hence near the detection limit with the ground-based telescopes used in the survey.
Testing the planetary models of HU Aquarii Bours, M CP; Marsh, T R; Breedt, E ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
12/2014, Letnik:
445, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present new eclipse observations of the polar (i.e. semidetached magnetic white dwarf + M-dwarf binary) HU Aqr, and mid-egress times for each eclipse, which continue to be observed increasingly ...early. Recent eclipses occurred more than 70 s earlier than the prediction from the latest model that invoked a single circumbinary planet to explain the observed orbital period variations, thereby conclusively proving this model to be incorrect. Using ULTRACAM data, we show that mid-egress times determined for simultaneous data taken at different wavelengths agree with each other. The large variations in the observed eclipse times cannot be explained by planetary models containing up to three planets, because of poor fits to the data as well as orbital instability on short time-scales. The peak-to-peak amplitude of the O-C diagram of almost 140 s is also too great to be caused by Applegate's mechanism, movement of the accretion spot on the surface of the white dwarf, or by asynchronous rotation of the white dwarf. What does cause the observed eclipse time variations remains a mystery.
Gaia Early Data Release 3 Hodgkin, S. T.; Harrison, D. L.; Breedt, E. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
08/2021, Letnik:
652
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context.
Since July 2014, the
Gaia
mission has been engaged in a high-spatial-resolution, time-resolved, precise, accurate astrometric, and photometric survey of the entire sky.
Aims.
We present the
...Gaia
Science Alerts project, which has been in operation since 1 June 2016. We describe the system which has been developed to enable the discovery and publication of transient photometric events as seen by
Gaia
.
Methods.
We outline the data handling, timings, and performances, and we describe the transient detection algorithms and filtering procedures needed to manage the high false alarm rate. We identify two classes of events: (1) sources which are new to
Gaia
and (2)
Gaia
sources which have undergone a significant brightening or fading. Validation of the
Gaia
transit astrometry and photometry was performed, followed by testing of the source environment to minimise contamination from Solar System objects, bright stars, and fainter near-neighbours.
Results.
We show that the
Gaia
Science Alerts project suffers from very low contamination, that is there are very few false-positives. We find that the external completeness for supernovae,
C
E
= 0.46, is dominated by the
Gaia
scanning law and the requirement of detections from both fields-of-view. Where we have two or more scans the internal completeness is
C
I
= 0.79 at 3 arcsec or larger from the centres of galaxies, but it drops closer in, especially within 1 arcsec.
Conclusions.
The per-transit photometry for
Gaia
transients is precise to 1% at
G
= 13, and 3% at
G
= 19. The per-transit astrometry is accurate to 55 mas when compared to
Gaia
DR2. The
Gaia
Science Alerts project is one of the most homogeneous and productive transient surveys in operation, and it is the only survey which covers the whole sky at high spatial resolution (subarcsecond), including the Galactic plane and bulge.
Secondary stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs) follow a well-defined period-density relation. Thus, canonical donor stars in CVs are generally low-mass stars of spectral type M. However, several CVs ...have been observed containing secondary stars that are too hot for their inferred masses. This particular configuration can be explained if the donor stars in these systems underwent significant nuclear evolution before they reached contact. In this paper, we present SDSS J001153.08-064739.2 as an additional example belonging to this peculiar type of CV and discuss in detail its evolutionary history. We perform spectroscopic and photometric observations and make use of available Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey photometry to measure the orbital period of SDSS J001153.08-064739.2 as 2.4 hr and estimate the white dwarf (M sub(wd) > 0.65 M sub(middot in circle)) and donor star (0.21 M sub(middot in circle) < M sub(don) < 0.45 M sub(middot in circle)) masses, the mass ratio (q = 0.32 + or - 0.08), the orbital inclination (47degrees < i < 70degrees); derive an accurate orbital ephemeris (T sub(0) = 2453383.578(1) + E x 0.10028081(8)); and report the detection of an outburst. We show that SDSS J001153.08-064739.2 is one of the most extreme cases in which the donor star is clearly too hot for its mass. SDSS J001153.08-064739.2 is therefore not only a peculiar CV containing an evolved donor star, but also an accreting CV within the period gap. Intriguingly, approximately half of the total currently observed sample of these peculiar CVs are located in the period gap with nearly the same orbital period.
Context.
Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy has rapidly reached maturity, becoming a fundamental observing window for modern astrophysics. The coalescences of a few tens of black hole (BH) binaries ...have been detected, while the number of events possibly including a neutron star (NS) is still limited to a few. On 2019 August 14, the LIGO and Virgo interferometers detected a high-significance event labelled S190814bv. A preliminary analysis of the GW data suggests that the event was likely due to the merger of a compact binary system formed by a BH and a NS.
Aims.
In this paper, we present our extensive search campaign aimed at uncovering the potential optical and near infrared electromagnetic counterpart of S190814bv. We found no convincing electromagnetic counterpart in our data. We therefore use our non-detection to place limits on the properties of the putative outflows that could have been produced by the binary during and after the merger.
Methods.
Thanks to the three-detector observation of S190814bv, and given the characteristics of the signal, the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations delivered a relatively narrow localisation in low latency – a 50% (90%) credible area of 5 deg
2
(23 deg
2
) – despite the relatively large distance of 267 ± 52 Mpc. ElectromagNetic counterparts of GRAvitational wave sources at the VEry Large Telescope collaboration members carried out an intensive multi-epoch, multi-instrument observational campaign to identify the possible optical and near infrared counterpart of the event. In addition, the ATLAS, GOTO, GRAWITA-VST, Pan-STARRS, and VINROUGE projects also carried out a search on this event. In this paper, we describe the combined observational campaign of these groups.
Results.
Our observations allow us to place limits on the presence of any counterpart and discuss the implications for the kilonova (KN), which was possibly generated by this NS–BH merger, and for the strategy of future searches. The typical depth of our wide-field observations, which cover most of the projected sky localisation probability (up to 99.8%, depending on the night and filter considered), is
r
∼ 22 (resp.
K
∼ 21) in the optical (resp. near infrared). We reach deeper limits in a subset of our galaxy-targeted observations, which cover a total ∼50% of the galaxy-mass-weighted localisation probability. Altogether, our observations allow us to exclude a KN with large ejecta mass
M
≳ 0.1
M
⊙
to a high (> 90%) confidence, and we can exclude much smaller masses in a sub-sample of our observations. This disfavours the tidal disruption of the neutron star during the merger.
Conclusions.
Despite the sensitive instruments involved in the campaign, given the distance of S190814bv, we could not reach sufficiently deep limits to constrain a KN comparable in luminosity to AT 2017gfo on a large fraction of the localisation probability. This suggests that future (likely common) events at a few hundred megaparsecs will be detected only by large facilities with both a high sensitivity and large field of view. Galaxy-targeted observations can reach the needed depth over a relevant portion of the localisation probability with a smaller investment of resources, but the number of galaxies to be targeted in order to get a fairly complete coverage is large, even in the case of a localisation as good as that of this event.
PDF
