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Register a new userThe Helium-Rich Cataclysmic Variable ES Ceti
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Authors
Catherine Espaillat
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We report photometry of the helium-rich cataclysmic variable ES Ceti during 2001-2004. The star is roughly stable at V ~ 17.0 and has a light curve dominated by a single period of 620 s, which remains measurably constant over the 3 year baseline. The weight of evidence suggests that this is the true orbital period of the underlying binary, not a superhump as initially assumed. We report GALEX ultraviolet magnitudes, which establish a very blue flux distribution (F_nu ~ nu^1.3), and therefore a large bolometric correction. Other evidence (the very strong He II 4686 emission, and a ROSAT detection in soft X-rays) also indicates a strong EUV source, and comparison to helium-atmosphere models suggests a temperature of 130+-10 kK. For a distance of 350 pc, we estimate a luminosity of (0.8-1.7)x10^34 erg/s, yielding a mass accretion rate of (2-4)x10^-9 M_sol/yr onto an assumed 0.7 M_sol white dwarf. This appears to be about as expected for white dwarfs orbiting each other in a 10 minute binary, assuming that mass transfer is powered by gravitational radiation losses. We estimate mean accretion rates for other helium-rich cataclysmic variables, and find that they also follow the expected M-dot ~ P_o^-5 relation. There is some evidence (the lack of superhumps, and the small apparent size of the luminous region) that the mass transfer stream in ES Cet directly strikes the white dwarf, rather than circularizing to form an accretion disk.
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We present time-resolved spectroscopy and photometry of the dwarf nova SBSS 1108+574, obtained during the 2012 outburst. Its quiescent spectrum is unusually rich in helium, showing broad, double-peaked emission lines from the accretion disc. We measure a line flux ratio HeI 5875/Halpha = 0.81 +/- 0.04, a much higher ratio than typically observed in cataclysmic variables (CVs). The outburst spectrum shows hydrogen and helium in absorption, with weak emission of Halpha and HeI 6678, as well as strong HeII emission. From our photometry, we find the superhump period to be 56.34 +/- 0.18 minutes, in agreement with the previously published result. The spectroscopic period, derived from the radial velocities of the emission lines, is found to be 55.3 +/- 0.8 minutes, consistent with a previously identified photometric orbital period, and significantly below the normal CV period minimum. This indicates that the donor in SBSS 1108+574 is highly evolved. The superhump excess derived from our photometry implies a mass ratio of q = 0.086 +/- 0.014. Our spectroscopy reveals a grazing eclipse of the large outbursting disc. As the disc is significantly larger during outburst, it is unlikely that an eclipse will be detectable in quiescence. The relatively high accretion rate implied by the detection of outbursts, together with the large mass ratio, suggests that SBSS 1108+574 is still evolving towards its period minimum.
Amongst the hydrogen-deficient accreting binaries known as the AM~CVn stars are three systems with the shortest known orbital periods: HM Cnc (321 s), V407 Vul (569 s) and ES Cet (620 s). These compact binaries are predicted to be strong sources of persistent gravitational wave radiation. HM Cnc and V407 Vul are undergoing direct impact accretion in which matter transferred from their donor hits the accreting white dwarfs directly. ES Cet, is the longest period of the three and is amongst the most luminous AM CVn stars, but it is not known whether it accretes via a disk or direct impact. ES Cet displays strong HeII 4686 line emission, which is sometimes a sign of magnetically-controlled accretion. Peculiarly, although around one third of hydrogen accreting white dwarfs show evidence for magnetism, none have been found amongst helium accretors. We present the results of Magellan and VLT spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric observing campaigns dedicated to ES Cet with the aim of understanding its accretion structure. We find strong variability in our spectra on the 620 s period. The lines show evidence for double-peaked emission, characteristic for an accretion disc, with an additional component associated with the outermost disc, rather than a direct impact, that is broadly consistent with S-wave emission from the gas stream/disc impact region. This confirms beyond any doubt that 620,s is the orbital period of ES Cet. We find no significant circular polarisation (below 0.1 %). The trailed spectra show that ES Cets outer disc is eclipsed by the mass donor, revealing at the same time that the photometric minimum coincides with the hitherto unrecognised eclipse. ES Cet shows spectroscopic behaviour consistent with accretion via a disc, and is the shortest orbital period eclipsing AM CVn star known.
We present ULTRACAM photometry of ES Cet, an ultracompact binary with a 620s orbital period. The mass transfer in systems such as this one is thought to be driven by gravitational radiation, which causes the binary to evolve to longer periods since the semi-degenerate donor star expands in size as it loses mass. We supplement these ULTRACAM+WHT data with observations made with smaller telescopes around the world over a nine year baseline. All of the observations show variation on the orbital period, and by timing this variation we track the period evolution of this system. We do not detect any significant departure from a linear ephemeris, implying a donor star that is of small mass and close to a fully degenerate state. This finding favours the double white dwarf formation channel for this AM CVn star. An alternative explanation is that the system is in the relatively short-lived phase in which the mass transfer rate climbs towards its long-term value.
We report a long-term study of the eclipse times in the 10-minute helium binary ES Ceti. The binary period increases rapidly, with P/P-dot = 6.2x10^6 yr. This is consistent with the assumption that gravitational radiation (GR) drives the mass transfer, and appears to be the first dynamical evidence that GR is indeed the driver of evolution in this class of very old cataclysmic variables -- the AM Canum Venaticorum stars.
We show that recent observations of the compact binary, AM CVn type system, ES Ceti are fully consistent with theoretical predictions of stable mass transfer moderated by angular momentum loss due to gravitational-wave radiation. One of the main predictions of this model (for degenerate donors) is a widening of the binary. The mass transfer rate inferred from the observed rate of change in the orbital frequency is consistent with that inferred from the observed flux using the recent Gaia DR2 parallax
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