Aims.
A few well studied cataclysmic variables (CVs) have shown discrete characteristic frequencies of fast variability; the most prominent ones are around log(
f
/Hz) ≃ −3. Because we still have ...only small number statistics, we obtained a new observation to test whether this is a general characteristic of CVs, especially if mass transfer occurs at a high rate typical for dwarf nova in outbursts, in the so called high state.
Methods.
We analysed optical
Kepler
data of the quiescent nova and intermediate polar V4743 Sgr. This system hosts a white dwarf accreting through a disc in the high state. We calculated the power density spectra and searched for break or characteristic frequencies. Our goal is to assess whether the milihertz frequency of the flickering is a general characteristic.
Results.
V4743 Sgr has a clear break frequency at log(
f
/Hz) ≃ −3. This detection increases the probability that the megahertz characteristic frequency is a general feature of CVs in the high state, from 69% to 91%. Furthermore, we propose the possibility that the variability is generated by a similar mechanism as in the nova-like system MV Lyr, which would make V4743 Sgr unique.
ABSTRACT
On 2021 August 8, the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) erupted again, after an interval of 15.5 yr. Regular monitoring by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory began promptly, on August 9.9 ...(0.37 d after the optical peak), and continued until the source passed behind the Sun at the start of November, 86 d later. Observations then restarted on day 197, once RS Oph emerged from the Sun constraint. This makes RS Oph the first Galactic recurrent nova to have been monitored by Swift throughout two eruptions. Here we investigate the extensive X-ray data sets between 2006 and 2021, as well as the more limited data collected by the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EXOSAT) in 1985. The hard X-rays arising from shock interactions between the nova ejecta and red giant wind are similar following the last two eruptions. In contrast, the early supersoft source (SSS) in 2021 was both less variable and significantly fainter than in 2006. However, 0.3–1 keV light curves from 2021 reveal a 35 s quasi-periodic oscillation consistent in frequency with the 2006 data. The Swift X-ray spectra from 2021 are featureless, with the soft emission typically being well parametrized by a simple blackbody, while the 2006 spectra showed much stronger evidence for superimposed ionized absorption edges. Considering the data after day 60 following each eruption, during the supersoft phase the 2021 spectra are hotter, with smaller effective radii and lower wind absorption, leading to an apparently reduced bolometric luminosity. We explore possible explanations for the gross differences in observed SSS behaviour between the 2006 and 2021 outbursts.
Four VY Scl-type nova-like systems were observed in X-rays during both the low- and the high-optical states. We examined Chandra, ROSAT, Swift and Suzaku archival observations of BZ Cam, MV Lyr, TT ...Ari and V794 Aql. The X-ray flux of BZ Cam is higher during the low state, but there is no supersoft X-ray source (SSS) as hypothesized in previous articles. No SSS was detected in the low state of the any of the other systems, with the X-ray flux decreasing by a factor between 2 and 50. The best fit to the Swift X-ray spectra is obtained with a multicomponent model of plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium. The high-state high-resolution spectra of TT Ari taken with Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-S) and the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) shows a rich emission line spectrum, with prominent lines of Mg, Si, Ne and S. The complexity of this spectrum seems to have origin in more than one region, or more than one single physical mechanism. While several emission lines are consistent with a cooling flow in an accretion stream, there is at least an additional component. We discuss the origin of this component, which is probably arising in a wind from the system. We also examine the possibility that the VY Scl systems may be intermediate polars, and that while the boundary layer of the accretion disc emits only in the extreme ultraviolet, part of the X-ray flux may be due to magnetically driven accretion.
In this paper, we explore the possibility that isolated carbon–oxygen-WDs (white dwarfs) with mass smaller than the Chandrasekhar limit may undergo nuclear runaway and supernova (SNa) explosion, ...triggered by the energy produced by underbarrier pycnonuclear reactions between carbon and light elements. Such reactions would be due to left over impurities of the light elements, which would remain inactive until the WDs transit from the liquid to the solid state. We devise a simple formulation for the Coulombian potential and the local density in an ionic lattice affected by impurities and introduce it in the known rates of pycnonuclear reactions for multicomponent plasmas. Our semi-analytical results indicate that the energy generated by these pycnonuclear reactions exceeds the WD luminosity and provides enough energy to elementary cells of matter to balance the energy cost for C-ignition at much younger ages than the age of the Universe, even for WDs with masses as low as ≃0.85 M⊙. A thermonuclear runaway may thus be triggered in isolated WDs. The explosion would occur from few hundred thousand to a few million years after the WD formation in the mass interval 0.85–1.2 M⊙.
ABSTRACT We present the Suzaku XIS observation of V2491 Cyg (Nova Cyg 2008 No. 2) obtained in quiescence, more than two years after the outburst. The nova was detected as a very luminous source in a ...wide spectral range from soft to hard X-rays. A very soft blackbody-like component peaking at 0.5 keV indicates that we observe either remaining, localized hydrogen burning on the surface of the white dwarf, or accretion onto a magnetized polar cap. In the second case, V2491 Cyg is a candidate "soft intermediate polar." We obtained the best fit for the X-ray spectra with several components: two of thermal plasma, a blackbody and a complex absorber. The latter is typical of intermediate polars. The X-ray light curve shows a modulation with a period of ∼38 minutes. The amplitude of this modulation is strongly energy-dependent and reaches a maximum in the range 0.8-2.0 keV. We discuss the origin of the X-ray emission and pulsations, and the likelihood of the intermediate polar scenario.
ABSTRACT Two observations of V959 Mon done using the Chandra X-ray gratings during the late outburst phases (2012 September and December) offer extraordinary insight into the physics and chemistry of ...this Galactic ONe nova. The X-ray flux was 1.7 × 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1 and 8.6 × 10−12 erg cm−2 s−1, respectively, at the two epochs. The first result, coupled with electron density diagnostics and compared with published optical and ultraviolet observations, indicates that most likely in 2012 September, the X-rays originated from a very small fraction of the ejecta, concentrated in very dense clumps. We obtained a fairly good fit to the September spectrum with a model of plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium with two components; one at a temperature of 0.78 keV, associated with flat-topped and asymmetrical emission lines, blueshifted by 710-930 km s−1; the other one at a temperature of 4.5 keV, mostly contributing to the high-energy continuum. However, we cannot rule out a range of plasma temperatures between these two extremes; we also modeled the spectrum as a static cooling flow, but the available models and the data quality are not adequate yet to differentiate between the two-component fit and a smoothly varying temperature structure. In December, the central white dwarf (WD) became visible in X-rays. We estimate an effective temperature of 680,000 K, consistent with a WD mass M . The WD flux is modulated with the orbital period, indicating high inclination, and two quasi-periodic modulations with hour timescales were also observed. No hot plasma component with a temperature above 0.5 keV was observed in December, and the blueshifted component cooled to kT 0.45 keV. Additionally, new emission lines due to a much cooler plasma appeared, which were not observed two months earlier. We estimate abundances and yields of elements in the nova wind that cannot be measured in the optical spectra and confirm the high Ne abundance previously derived for this nova. We also find high abundance of Al, 230 times the solar value, consistently with the prediction that ONe novae contribute to at least one-third of the Galactic yield of 26Al.
ABSTRACT
Two long AstroSat Soft X-ray Telescope observations were taken of the third recorded outburst of the symbiotic recurrent nova V3890 Sgr. The first observing run, 8.1–9.9 d after the ...outburst, initially showed a stable intensity level with a hard X-ray spectrum that we attribute to shocks between the nova ejecta and the pre-existing stellar companion. On day 8.57, the first, weak, signs appeared of supersoft source (SSS) emission powered by residual burning on the surface of the white dwarf. The SSS emission was observed to be highly variable on time-scales of hours. After day 8.9, the SSS component was more stable and brighter. In the second observing run, on days 15.9–19.6 after the outburst, the SSS component was even brighter but still highly variable. The SSS emission was observed to fade significantly during days 16.8–17.8 followed by re-brightening. Meanwhile, the shock component was stable, leading to increase in hardness ratio during the period of fading. AstroSat and XMM–Newton observations have been used to study the spectral properties of V3890 Sgr to draw quantitative conclusions even if their drawback is model dependent. We used the xspec to fit spectral models of plasma emission, and the best fits are consistent with the elemental abundances being lower during the second observing run compared to the first for spectra ≥1 keV. The SSS emission is well fitted by non-local thermal equilibrium model atmosphere used for white dwarfs. The resulting spectral parameters, however, are subject to systematic uncertainties such as completeness of atomic data.
Abstract
We report on multiwavelength observations of nova Small Magellanic Cloud Nova 2016-10a. The present observational set is one of the most comprehensive for any nova in the Small Magellanic ...Cloud, including low-, medium-, and high-resolution optical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry from Southern African Large Telescope, Folded Low-Order Yte-Pupil Double-Dispersed Spectrograph, and Southern Astrophysical Research; long-term Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment V- and I-bands photometry dating back to 6 yr before eruption; Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System optical and near-IR photometry from ∼11 d until over 280 d post-eruption; Swift satellite X-ray and ultraviolet observations from ∼6 d until 319 d post-eruption. The progenitor system contains a bright disc and a main sequence or a sub-giant secondary. The nova is very fast with t2 ≃ 4.0 ± 1.0 d and t3 ≃ 7.8 ± 2.0 d in the V band. If the nova is in the SMC, at a distance of ∼61 ± 10 kpc, we derive MV, max ≃ −10.5 ± 0.5, making it the brightest nova ever discovered in the SMC and one of the brightest on record. At day 5 post-eruption the spectral lines show a He/N spectroscopic class and an Full Width at Half Maximum of ∼3500 km s−1, indicating moderately high ejection velocities. The nova entered the nebular phase ∼20 d post-eruption, predicting the imminent super-soft source turn-on in the X-rays, which started ∼28 d post-eruption. The super-soft source properties indicate a white dwarf mass between 1.2 and 1.3 M⊙ in good agreement with the optical conclusions.
ABSTRACT Nova LMC 2009a is confirmed as a recurrent nova (RN) from positional coincidence with nova LMC 1971b. The observational data set is one of the most comprehensive for any Galactic or ...extragalactic RN: optical and near-IR photometry from outburst until over 6 years later; optical spectra for the first 6 months, and Swift satellite ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray observations from 9 days to almost 1 year post-outburst. We find MV = −8.4 0.8r 0.7s and expansion velocities between 1000 and 4000 km s−1. Coronal line emission before day 9 indicates shocks in the ejecta. Strengthening of He iiλ4686 preceded the emergence of the super-soft source (SSS) in X-rays at ∼63-70 days, which was initially very variable. Periodic modulations, P = 1.2 days, most probably orbital in nature, were evident in the UV and optical from day 43. Subsequently, the SSS shows an oscillation with the same period but with a delay of 0.28P. The progenitor system has been identified; the secondary is most likely a sub-giant feeding a luminous accretion disk. Properties of the SSS infer a white dwarf (WD) mass 1.1 M MWD 1.3 M . If the accretion occurs at a constant rate, yr−1 is needed, consistent with nova models for an inter-eruption interval of 38 years, low outburst amplitude, progenitor position in the color-magnitude diagram, and spectral energy distribution at quiescence. We note striking similarities between LMC 2009a and the Galactic nova KT Eri, suggesting that KT Eri is a candidate RN.
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