No Arabic abstract
We report on the Swift/XRT Deep Galactic Plane Survey discovery and multi-wavelength follow-up observations of a new intermediate polar Cataclysmic Variable, Swift J183920.1-045350. A 449.7 s spin period is found in Xmm-Newton and NuSTAR data, accompanied by a 459.9 s optical period that is most likely the synodic, or beat period, produced from a 5.6 h orbital period. The orbital period is seen with moderate significance in independent long-baseline optical photometry observations with ZTF and SAAO. We find that the source X-ray pulsed fraction decreases with increasing energy. The X-ray spectra are consistent with the presence of an Fe emission line complex with both local and interstellar absorption. In the optical spectra, strong H$alpha{}$, H I, He I and He II emission lines are observed, all common features in magnetic CVs. The source properties are thus typical of known intermediate polars, with the exception of its estimated distance of 2.26$^{+1.93}_{-0.83}$ kpc, which is larger than typical, extending the reach of the CV population in our Galaxy.
We present optical and X-ray time-series photometry of EI UMa that reveal modulation at 746 and 770 s, which we interpret as the white dwarf spin and spin-orbit sidebands. These detections, combined with previous X-ray studies, establish EI UMa as an intermediate polar. We estimate the mass accretion rate to be ~ 3.6 x 10^{17} g s^{-1}, which is close to, and likely greater than, the critical rate above which dwarf nova instabilities are suppressed. We also estimate the white dwarf to have a large magnetic moment mu > (3.4 +/- 0.2) x 10^{33} G cm^3. The high mass accretion rate and magnetic moment imply the existence of an accretion ring rather than a disk, and along with the relatively long orbital period, these suggest that EI UMa is a rare example of a pre-polar cataclysmic variable.
We present a complete dynamical study of the intermediate polar and dwarf nova cataclysmic variable GK Per (Nova Persei 1901) based on a multi-site optical spectroscopy and $R$-band photometry campaign. The radial velocity curve of the evolved donor star has a semi-amplitude $K_2=126.4 pm 0.9 , mathrm{km},mathrm{s}^{-1}$ and an orbital period $P=1.996872 pm 0.000009 , mathrm{d}$. We refine the projected rotational velocity of the donor star to $v_mathrm{rot} sin i = 52 pm 2 , mathrm{km},mathrm{s}^{-1}$ which, together with $K_2$, provides a donor star to white dwarf mass ratio $q=M_2/M_1=0.38 pm 0.03$. We also determine the orbital inclination of the system by modelling the phase-folded ellipsoidal light curve and obtain $i=67^{circ} pm 5^{circ}$. The resulting dynamical masses are $M_{1}=1.03^{+0.16}_{-0.11} , mathrm{M}_{odot}$ and $M_2 = 0.39^{+0.07}_{-0.06} , mathrm{M}_{odot}$ at $68$ per cent confidence level. The white dwarf dynamical mass is compared with estimates obtained by modelling the decline light curve of the $1901$ nova event and X-ray spectroscopy. The best matching mass estimates come from the nova light curve models and an X-ray data analysis that uses the ratio between the Alfven radius in quiescence and during dwarf nova outburst.
In magnetically accreting white dwarfs, the height above the white dwarf surface where the standing shock is formed is intimately related with the accretion rate and the white dwarf mass. However, it is difficult to measure. We obtained new data with NuSTAR and Swift that, together with archival Chandra data, allow us to constrain the height of the shock in the intermediate polar EX Hya. We conclude that the shock has to form at least at a distance of about one white dwarf radius from the surface in order to explain the weak Fe K{alpha} 6.4 keV line, the absence of a reflection hump in the high-energy continuum, and the energy dependence of the white dwarf spin pulsed fraction. Additionally, the NuSTAR data allowed us to measure the true, uncontaminated hard X-ray (12-40 keV) flux, whose measurement was contaminated by the nearby galaxy cluster Abell 3528 in non-imaging X-ray instruments.
We present a study of the cataclysmic variable star PT Per based on archival XMM-Newton X-ray data and new optical spectroscopy from the WHT with ISIS. The X-ray data show deep minima which recur at a period of 82 minutes and a hard, unabsorbed X-ray spectrum. The optical spectra of PT Per show a relatively featureless blue continuum. From an analysis of the X-ray and optical data we conclude that PT Per is likely to be a magnetic cataclysmic variable of the polar class in which the minima correspond to those phase intervals when the accretion column rotates out of the field of view of the observer. We suggest that the optical spectrum, obtained around 4 years after the X-ray coverage, is dominated by the white dwarf in the system, implying that PT Per was in a low accretion state at the time of the observations. An analysis of the likely system parameters for PT Per suggests a distance of $approx90$ pc and a very low-mass secondary, consistent with the idea that PT Per is a period-bounce binary.
The March 2011 outburst of the poorly-studied cataclysmic variable NSV 1436 offered an opportunity to decide between dwarf nova and recurrent nova classifications. We use seven daily observations in the X-ray and UV by the Swift satellite, together with AAVSO V photometry, to characterise the outburst and decline behaviour. The short optical outburst coincided with a faint and relatively soft X-ray state, whereas in decline to fainter optical magnitudes the X-ray source was harder and brighter. These attributes, and the modest optical outburst amplitude, indicate that this was a dwarf nova outburst and not a recurrent nova. The rapid optical fading suggests an orbital period below 2 hours.