Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userOptical Flickering of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi: amplitude - flux relation
131
0
0.0
(
0
)
Added by
Radoslav K. Zamanov
Publication date
2015
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
We report observations of the flickering variability of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS~Oph at quiescence in five bands ($UBVRI$). We find evidence of a correlation between the peak-to-peak flickering amplitude ($Delta F$) and the average flux of the hot component ($F_{rm av}$). The correlation is highly significant, with a correlation coefficient of 0.85 and a $p$-value of~$sim 10^{-20}$. Combining the data from all wavebands, we find a dependence of the type $Delta F propto F^k_{rm av}$, with power-law index $k = 1.02 pm 0.04$ for the $UBVRI$ flickering of RS~Oph. Thus, the relationship between the amplitude of variability and the average flux of the hot component is consistent with linearity. The rms amplitude of flickering is on average 8 per cent ($pm2$ per cent) of $F_{rm av}$. The detected correlation is similar to that found in accreting black holes/neutron stars and cataclysmic variables. The possible reasons are briefly discussed. The data are available upon request from the authors.
rate research
Read More
Optical spectra of the 2006 outburst of RS Ophiuchi beginning one day after discovery to over a year after the outburst are presented here. The spectral evolution is found to be similar to that in previous outbursts. The early phase spectra are dominated by hydrogen and helium (I & II) lines. Coronal and nebular lines appear in the later phases. Emission line widths are found to narrow with time, which is interpreted as a shock expanding into the red giant wind. Using the photoionisation code CLOUDY, spectra at nine epochs spanning 14 months after the outburst peak, thus covering a broad range of ionisation and excitation levels in the ejecta, are modelled. The best-fit model parameters indicate the presence of a hot white dwarf source with a roughly constant luminosity of 1.26 x 10^{37} erg/s. During first three months, the abundances (by number) of He, N, O, Ne, Ar, Fe, Ca, S and Ni are found above solar abundances; abundances of these elements decreased in the later phase. Also presented are spectra obtained during quiescence. Photoionisation model of the quiescence spectrum indicates the presence of a low luminosity accretion disk. The helium abundance is found to be subsolar at quiescence.
Recurrent novae are binary stars in which a white dwarf accretes matter from a less evolved companion, either a red giant or a main-sequence star. They have dramatic optical brightenings of around 5-6 mag in V in less than a day, several times a century. These occur at variable and unpredictable intervals, and are followed by an optical decline over several weeks, and activity from the X-ray to the radio. The unpredictability of recurrent novae and related stellar types can hamper systematic study of their outbursts. Here we analyse the long-term lightcurve of RS Ophiuchi, a recurrent nova with six confirmed outbursts, most recently in 2006 February. We confirm the previously suspected 1945 outburst, largely obscured in a seasonal gap. We also find a signal via wavelet analysis that can be used to predict an incipient outburst up to a few hundred days before hand. This has never before been possible. In addition this may suggest that the preferred thermonuclear runaway mechanism for the outbursts will have to be modified, as no pre-outburst signal is anticipated in that case. If our result indeed points to gaps in our understanding of how outbursts are driven, we will need to study such objects carefully to determine if the white dwarf is growing in mass, an essential factor if these systems are to become Type Ia Supernovae. Determining the likelihood of recurrent novae being an important source population will have implications for stellar and galaxy evolution.
We report observations of the flickering variability of the recurrent nova RS Oph at quiescence on the basis of simultaneous observations in 5 bands (UBVRI). RS Oph has flickering source with (U-B)_0=-0.62 pm 0.07, (B-V)_0=0.15 pm 0.10, (V-R)_0=0.25 pm 0.05. We find for the flickering source a temperature T_fl = 9500 pm 500 K, and luminosity L_fl = 50 - 150 L_sun (using a distance of d=1.6kpc). We also find that on a (U-B) vs (B-V) diagram the flickering of the symbiotic stars differs from that of the cataclysmic variables. The possible source of the flickering is discussed. The data are available upon request from the authors and on the web www.astro.bas.bg/~rz/RSOph.UBVRI.2010.MNRAS.tar.gz.
We performed 48.6 hours (in 28 nights) of simultaneous B and V band observations of the flickering variability of the recurrent nova RS Oph in quiescence. During the time of our observations the brightness of the system varied between 13.2 > B > 11.1 and the colour in the range 0.86 < B-V < 1.33 . We find that RS~Oph becomes more blue, as it becomes brighter, however the hot component becomes more red as it becomes brighter (assuming that the red giant is non-variable). During all the runs RS Oph exhibits flickering with amplitude 0.16 - 0.59 mag in B band. For the flickering source we find that it has colour -0.14 < B-V < 0.40, temperature in the range 7200 < T_fl < 18900, and average radius 1.1 < R_fl < 6.7 R_sun. We do not find a correlation between the temperature of the flickering and the brightness. However, we do find a strong correlation (correlation coefficient 0.81, significance 1.1x10^{-7} ) between B band magnitude and the average radius of the flickering source - as the brightness of the system increases the size of the flickering source also increases. The estimated temperature is similar to that of the bright spot of cataclysmic variables. The persistent presence of flickering indicates that the white dwarf is actively accreting material for the next outburst.
We analyze optical photometric data of short term variability (flickering) of accreting white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables (KR Aur, MV Lyr, V794 Aql, TT Ari, V425 Cas), recurrent novae (RS Oph and T CrB) and jet-ejecting symbiotic stars (CH Cyg and MWC 560). We find that the amplitude-flux relationship is visible over four orders of magnitude, in the range of fluxes from $10^{29}$ to $10^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$ AA$^{-1}$, as a statistically perfect correlation with correlation coefficient 0.96 and p-value $ sim 10^{-28}$. In the above range, the amplitude of variability for any of our 9 objects is proportional to the flux level with (almost) one and the same factor of proportionality for all 9 accreting white dwarfs with $Delta F = 0.36 (pm 0.05) F_{av}$, $sigma_{rms} = 0.086(pm 0.011) F_{av}$, and $sigma_{rms} / Delta F = 0.24 pm 0.02$. Over all, our results indicate that the viscosity in the accretion discs is practically the same for all 9 objects in our sample, in the mass accretion rate range $2 times 10^{-11} - 2times10^{-7}$ $M_odot$ yr$^{-1}$.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
