WZ Sge-type dwarf novae Kato, Taichi
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan,
12/2015, Letnik:
67, Številka:
6
Journal Article
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We have summarized the current understanding and recently obtained findings about WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. We also reviewed the historical development of the understanding of these objects, provided ...the modern criteria, and reviewed the past research in relation to superhumps, early superhumps, and the outburst mechanism. We regard the presence of early superhumps (reflecting the 2:1 resonance) and long or multiple rebrightenings as the best distinguishing properties of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. We provided the updated list of nearly 100 WZ Sge-type dwarf novae mainly based on the data obtained by the VSNET Collaboration up to Kato et al. (2015, PASJ, 67, 105), and discussed the statistics. We could detect early superhumps with amplitude larger than 0.02 mag in 63% of the studied WZ Sge-type dwarf novae, which makes early superhumps a useful distinguishing feature for WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. Theoretical light curves of early superhumps generally appear to reproduce the existence of many low-amplitude objects, supporting the geometrical origin of early superhumps. Using the recently developed method of measuring mass ratios using developing phase of superhumps (stage A superhumps), we showed that there is a linear relation between the period variation of superhumps and the mass ratio in WZ Sge-type objects. By using this relation, we were able to draw an evolutionary picture of a large number of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae and identified the type of outburst to be an evolutionary sequence: type C → D → A → B → E, with some outliers for type-B objects. The duration of stage A (evolutionary phase) of superhumps is also well correlated with the estimated mass ratios. By using mass ratios from stage A superhumps and the duration of stage A, we have been able to identify the best candidates for period bouncers.
Abstract
I found that V507 Cyg, IM Eri, and FY Vul are Z Cam-type dwarf novae and they showed sequences of standstill terminated by brightening, in contrast to fading as ordinary Z Cam stars do, ...followed by damping oscillation. These sequences are characteristic to IW And-type objects (also known as anomalous Z Cam stars). New additions to the IW And-type objects suggest that the IW And-type phenomenon is more prevalent among Z Cam stars. I suspect that the regularity of the pattern of the IW And-type phenomenon suggests a previously unknown type of limit-cycle oscillation, and I suggest that the standstill in these objects is somehow maintained in the inner part of the disk and that the thermal instability starting from the outer part of the disk terminates the standstill to complete the cycle.
We propose a new dynamical method of estimating binary's mass ratios by using the period of superhumps in SU UMa-type dwarf novae during the growing stage (the stage A superhumps). This method is ...based on the working hypothesis that the period of superhumps in the growing stage is determined by the dynamical precession rate at the 3W1 resonance radius, and is suggested in our new interpretation of the superhump period evolution during a superoutburst (2013, PASJ, 65, 95). By comparing objects having known mass ratios, we show that our method can provide sufficiently accurate mass ratios comparable to those obtained by eclipse observations in quiescence. One of the advantages of this method is that it requires neither an eclipse nor any experimental calibration. It is particularly suitable for exploring the low mass-ratio end of the evolution of cataclysmic variables, where the secondary is not detectable by conventional methods. Our analysis suggests that previous determinations of the mass ratio by using superhump periods during a superoutburst were systematically underestimated for low mass-ratio systems, and we provided a new calibration. It reveals that most WZSge-type dwarf novae have either secondaries close to the border of the lower main-sequence or brown dwarfs, and most of the objects have not yet reached the evolutionary stage of period bouncers. Our results are not in contradiction with an assumption that an observed minimum period (
$\sim 77$
min) of ordinary hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables is indeed the minimum period. We highlight how important the early observation of stage A superhumps is, and propose an effective future strategy of observation.
We have studied the short-cadence Kepler light curve of an SU UMa star, V1504 Cyg, which covers a period of
$ \sim$
630 d. All superoutbursts in V1504 Cyg have turned out to be of precursor-main ...types, and the superhump first appears near the maximum of the precursor. The superhumps grow smoothly from the precursor to the main superoutburst, showing that the superoutburst was initiated by a tidal instability (as evidenced by the growing superhump) as envisioned in the thermal-tidal instability (TTI) model proposed by Osaki (1989, PASJ, 41, 1005). We performed a power spectral analysis of the light curve of V1504 Cyg. One of the outstanding features is the appearance of a negative superhump extending over around 300 d, well over a supercycle. We found that the appearance of the negative superhump tends to decrease the frequency of occurrence of normal outbursts. Two types of supercycles are recognized in V1504 Cyg, which are similar to those of the Type L and Type S supercycles in the light curve of VW Hyi, a prototype SU UMa star, introduced by Smak (1985, Acta Astron., 35, 357). It is found that the Type L supercycle is the one accompanied by the negative superhump, and Type S is that without the negative superhump. If we adopt a tilted disk as an origin of the negative superhump, two types of the supercycles are understood to be due to a difference in the outburst interval, which is in turn caused by a difference in mass supply from the secondary to different parts of the disk. The frequency of the negative superhump varies systematically during a supercycle in V1504 Cyg. This variation can be used as an indicator of the disk-radius variation, and we have found that the observed disk-radius variation in V1504 Cyg fits very well with a prediction of the TTI model.
Abstract
IW And-type dwarf novae are a recently recognized group of cataclysmic variables which are characterized by a sequence of brightening from a standstill-like phase with damping oscillations ...often followed by a deep dip. We found that the supposed classical nova BC Cas which erupted in 1929 experienced a state of an IW And-type dwarf nova in 2018, 89 yr after the eruption. This finding suggests that a high mass-transfer rate following the nova eruption is associated with the IW And-type phenomenon. The mass of the white dwarf inferred from the decline rate of the nova is considerably higher than the average mass of the white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables, and these massive white dwarfs may be responsible for the manifestation of the IW And-type phenomenon.
Abstract
KIC 9406652 is a cataclysmic variable, sub-classified as an “IW And-type” star, which shows repeated standstills with oscillatory variations terminated by brightening. This system shows ...negative superhumps, semi-periodic variations having periods slightly shorter than the ∼6 hr orbital period, and super-orbital signals having ∼4 d periods, both of which are believed to originate from a precessing, tilted accretion disk. We have re-examined its Kepler light curve over 1500 d. In accordance with a cycle of IW And-type light variation, the frequency of negative superhumps showed reproducible variation: a rapid drop during the brightening and a gradual increase during the standstill. This is interpreted as a drastic change in the radial mass distribution and the expansion of the tilted disk, which is not expected from the existing models of IW And stars. The constancy in flux amplitudes of the negative superhumps confirms that their light source is the bright spot sweeping across the surface of the tilted disk. The frequencies of the negative superhumps and super-orbital signals varied in unison on long timescales, suggesting their common origin: the tilted disk. The orbital signals at the brightening were dominated by the irradiation of the secondary star and varied with the orientation of the tilted disk; the amplitude was maximized at the minimum of the super-orbital signals, and the light maximum shifted to early orbital phases as the super-orbital phase advanced. This is the first direct evidence that the disk is tilted out of the binary orbital plane and is retrogradely precessing. The tilt angle of the disk inferred from semi-amplitudes of super-orbital signals was lower than 3°. The diversity in light curves of the negative superhumps supports this and suggests that part of the gas stream overflows the disk edge. This study thus offers rich information about the tilted disk in cataclysmic variables.
Abstract
IW And stars are a subgroup of dwarf novae characterized by repetition of the intermediate brightness state with oscillatory variations terminated by brightening. This group of dwarf novae ...is also known to exhibit a wide variety even within one system in long-term light curves, including the usual dwarf-nova outbursts, Z Cam-type standstills, and so on, besides the typical IW And-type variations mentioned above. Following recent observations suggesting that some IW And stars seem to have tilted disks, we have investigated how the thermal-viscous instability works in tilted accretion disks in dwarf novae and whether it could reproduce the essential features of the light curves in IW And stars. By adopting various simplifying assumptions for tilted disks, we have performed time-dependent one-dimensional numerical simulations of a viscous disk by taking into account various mass supply patterns to the disk; that is, the gas stream from the secondary star flows not only to the outer edge of the disk but also to the inner portions of the disk. We find that tilted disks can achieve a new kind of accretion cycle, in which the inner disk almost always stays in the hot state while the outer disk repeats outbursts, thereby reproducing alternating mid-brightness intervals with dips and brightening, which are quite reminiscent of the most characteristic observational light variations of IW And stars. Further, we have found that our simulations produce diverse light variations, depending on different mass supply patterns even without time variations in mass transfer rates. This could explain the wide variety in long-term light curves of IW And stars.
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