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Register a new userRXJ0806.3+1527: a double degenerate binary with the shortest known orbital period (321s)
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We carried out optical observations of the field of the X-ray pulsator RXJ0806.3+1527. A blue V=21.1 star was found to be the only object consistent with the X-ray position. VLT FORS spectra revealed a blue continuum with no intrinsic absorption lines. Broad (v~1500 km/s), low equivalent width (about -1/-6A) emission lines from the HeII Pickering series were clearly detected. B, V and R time-resolved photometry revealed the presence of about 15% pulsations at the 321s X-ray period, confirming the identification. These findings, together with the period stability and absence of any additional modulation in the 1min-5hr period range, argue in favour of the orbital interpretation of the 321s pulsations. The most likely scenario is thus that RXJ0806.3+1527 is a double degenerate system of the AM CVn class. This would make RXJ0806.3+1527 the shortest orbital period binary currently known and one of the best candidates for gravitational wave detection.
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The system RX J0806.3+1527 (HM Cnc) is a pulsating X-ray source with 100 per cent modulation on a period of 321.5 s (5.4 min). This period reflects the orbital motion of a close binary consisting of two interacting white dwarfs. Here we present a series of simultaneous X-ray (0.2-10 keV) and near-ultraviolet (2600 angstrom and 1928 angstrom) observations that were carried out with the Swift satellite. In the near-ultraviolet, the counterpart of RX J0806.3+1527 was detected at flux densities consistent with a blackbody with temperature 27E+3 K. We found that the emission at 2600 angstrom is modulated at the 321.5-s period with the peak ahead of the X-ray one by 0.28 cycles and is coincident within 0.05 cycles with the optical. This phase-shift measurement confirms that the X-ray hot spot (located on the primary white dwarf) is at about 80-100 degrees from the direction that connects the two white dwarfs. Albeit at lower significance, the 321.5-s signature is present also in the 1928-angstrom data; at this wavelength, however, the pulse peak is better aligned with that observed at X-rays. We use the constraints on the source luminosity and the geometry of the emitting regions to discuss the merits and limits of the main models for RX J0806.3+1527.
We examine the nature of RXJ0806.3+1527 and show that it is possible to reconcile the observed period decrease and X-ray luminosity with the transfer of mass between two white dwarfs provided that: either the system is (i) still in the early and short-lived (less than ~100yr) stages of mass transfer due to atmospheric Roche-lobe overflow, or (ii) in a standard, long-term, quasi-stationary mass-transfer phase that is significantly (~90%) non-conservative and the conversion of accretion energy to X-rays is quite inefficient. In either of the two cases and for a wide range of physical parameters, we find that orbital angular momentum is lost from the system at a rate that is a factor of a few (less than ~4) higher than the rate associated with the emission of gravitational waves. Although the physical origin of this extra angular momentum loss is not clear at present, it should be taken into account in the consideration of RXJ0806.3+1527 as a verification Galactic source for LISA.
We have discovered that the detached double degenerate binary WD 0957-666 has an orbital period of 1.46 hours, rather than the 1.15 day orbital period reported earlier. This is the shortest period example of such a system yet discovered. We obtain a unique period, which fits both our and earlier data. At this period the emission of gravitational radiation will cause the binary to merge within approximately 2.0 x 10*8 years. This system represents a population of short orbital period binaries which will merge within a Hubble time, and so could account for type Ia supernovae, although due to the low mass of both stars (0.3 to 0.4 solar masses), it is unlikely to become a supernova itself. We have detected the companion star and have measured a mass ratio of q = 1.15. This is the third double degenerate for which q has been measured and all three have q close to 1, which is in conflict with the predicted mass ratio distribution which peaks at 0.7. This system is viewed close to edge on, and we estimate that the probability of this system undergoing eclipses is 15 %.
Following the detection of a bright new X-ray source, MAXI J1659-152, a series of observations was triggered with almost all currently flying high-energy missions. We report here on XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL and RXTE observations during the early phase of the X-ray outburst of this transient black-hole candidate. We confirm the dipping nature in the X-ray light curves. We find that the dips recur on a period of 2.4139+/-0.0005 hrs, and interpret this as the orbital period of the system. It is thus the shortest period black-hole X-ray binary known to date. Using the various observables, we derive the properties of the source. The inclination of the accretion disk with respect to the line of sight is estimated to be 60-75 degrees. The companion star to the black hole is possibly a M5 dwarf star, with a mass and radius of about 0.15 M_sun and 0.23 R_sun, respectively. The system is rather compact (orbital separation is about 1.35 R_sun) and is located at a distance of roughly 7 kpc. In quiescence, MAXI J1659-152 is expected to be optically faint, about 28 mag in the V-band.
We discuss a multimessenger strategy to detect radio pulses from Galactic binary neutron stars in a very tight orbit with the period shorter than 10 min. On one hand, all-sky surveys by radio instruments are inefficient for detecting faint pulsars in very tight binaries due partly to the rarity of targets and primarily to the need of correction for severe Doppler smearing. On the other hand, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect these binaries with a very large signal-to-noise ratio and determine the orbital frequency, binary parameters, and sky location to high accuracy. The information provided by LISA will reduce the number of required pointings by two to six orders of magnitude and that of required trials for the corrections by about nine orders of magnitude, increasing the chance of discovering radio pulsars. For making full use of this strategy, it is desirable to operate high-sensitivity radio instruments such as Square Kilometer Array Phase 2 simultaneously with LISA.
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