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Register a new userQuasi-periodic oscillations in accreting magnetic white dwarfs I. Observational constraints in X-ray and optical
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J. M. Bonnet-Bidaud
Publication date
2015
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are observed in the optical flux of some polars with typical periods of 1 to 3 s but none have been observed yet in X-rays where a significant part of the accreting energy is released. QPOs are expected and predicted from shock oscillations. Most of the polars have been observed by the XMM-Newton satellite. We made use of the homogeneous set of observations of the polars by XMM-Newton to search for the presence of QPOs in the (0.5-10 keV) energy range and to set significant upper limits for the brightest X-ray polars. We extracted high time-resolution X-ray light curves by taking advantage of the 0.07 sec resolution of the EPIC-PN camera. Among the 65 polars observed with XMM-Newton from 1998 to 2012, a sample of 24 sources was selected on the basis of their counting rate in the PN instrument to secure significant limits. We searched for QPOs using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) methods and defined limits of detection using statistical tools. Among the sample surveyed, none shows QPOs at a significant level. Upper limits to the fractional flux in QPOs range from 7% to 71%. These negative results are compared to the detailed theoretical predictions of numerical simulations based on a 2D hydrodynamical code presented in Paper II. Cooling instabilities in the accretion column are expected to produce shock quasi-oscillations with a maximum amplitude reaching ~ 40% in the bremsstrahlung (0.5-10 keV) X-ray emission and ~ 20% in the optical cyclotron emission. The absence of X-ray QPOs imposes an upper limit of ~ (5-10) g.cm-2.s-1 on the specific accretion rate but this condition is found inconsistent with the value required to account for the amplitudes and frequencies of the observed optical QPOs. This contradiction outlines probable shortcomings with the shock instability model.
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Magnetic cataclysmic variables are close binary systems containing a strongly magnetized white dwarf that accretes matter coming from an M-dwarf companion. High-energy radiation coming from those objects is emitted from the accretion column close to the white dwarf photosphere at the impact region. Its properties depend on the characteristics of the white dwarf and an accurate accretion column model allows the properties of the binary system to be inferred, such as the white dwarf mass, its magnetic field, and the accretion rate. We study the temporal and spectral behaviour of the accretion region and use the tools we developed to accurately connect the simulation results to the X-ray and optical astronomical observations. The radiation hydrodynamics code Hades was adapted to simulate this specific accretion phenomena. Classical approaches were used to model the radiative losses of the two main radiative processes: bremsstrahlung and cyclotron. The oscillation frequencies and amplitudes in the X-ray and optical domains are studied to compare those numerical results to observational ones. Different dimensional formulae were developed to complete the numerical evaluations. The complete characterization of the emitting region is described for the two main radiative regimes: when only the bremsstrahlung losses and when both cyclotron and bremsstrahlung losses are considered. The effect of the non-linear cooling in- stability regime on the accretion column behaviour is analysed. Variation in luminosity on short timescales (~ 1 s quasi-periodic oscillations) is an expected consequence of this specific dynamic. The importance of secondary shock instability on the quasi-periodic oscillation phenomenon is discussed. The stabilization effect of the cyclotron process is confirmed by our numerical simulations, as well as the power distribution in the various modes of oscillation.
Interacting binaries in which a white dwarf accretes material from a companion - cataclysmic variables (CVs) in which the mass donor is a Roche-lobe filling star on or near the main sequence, and symbiotic stars in which the mass donor is a late type giant - are relatively commonplace. They display a wide range of behaviors in the optical, X-rays, and other wavelengths, which still often baffle observers and theorists alike. Here I review the existing body of research on X-ray emissions from these objects for the benefits of both experts and newcomers to the field. I provide introductions to the past and current X-ray observatories, the types of known X-ray emissions from these objects, and the data analysis techniques relevant to this field. I then summarize of our knowledge regarding the X-ray emissions from magnetic CVs, non-magnetic CVs and symbiotic stars, and novae in eruption. I also discuss space density and the X-ray luminosity functions of these binaries and their contribution to the integrated X-ray emission from the Galaxy. I then discuss open questions and future prospects.
We develop a Monte-Carlo code to compute the Compton scattered X-ray flux arising from a hot inner flow which undergoes Lense-Thirring precession. The hot flow intercepts seed photons from an outer truncated thin disk. A fraction of the Comptonized photons will illuminate back the disk and the reflected/reprocessed photons will contribute to the observed spectrum. The total spectrum, including disk thermal emission, hot flow Comptonization, and disk reflection, is modelled within the framework of general relativity, taking light-bending and gravitational redshift into account. The simulations are performed in the context of the Lense-Thirring precession model for the low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations, so the inner flow is assumed to precess, leading to periodic modulation of the emitted radiation. In this work, we concentrate on the energy-dependent X-ray variability of the model and, in particular, on the evolution of the variability during the spectral transition from hard to soft state, which is implemented by the decrease of the truncation radius of the outer disk towards Innermost Stable Circular Orbit (ISCO). In the hard state where the Comptonizing flow is geometrically thick, the Comptonization is weakly variable with the fractional variability amplitude of $leq$10%; in the soft state where the Comptonizing flow is cooled down and thus becomes geometrically thin, and the fractional variability of the Comptonization is highly variable, increasing with photon energy. The fractional variability of the reflection increases with energy, and the reflection emission for low spin is counterintuitively more variable than the one for high spin.
We present a detailed study of the X-ray energy and power spectral properties of the neutron star transient IGR J17191-2821. We discovered four instances of pairs of simultaneous kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs). The frequency difference between these kHz QPOs is between 315 Hz and 362 Hz. We also report on the detection of five thermonuclear type-I X-ray bursts and the discovery of burst oscillations at ~294 Hz during three of them. Finally, we report on a faint and short outburst precursor, which occurred about two months before the main outburst. Our results on the broadband spectral and variability properties allow us to firmly establish the atoll source nature of IGR J17191-2821.
We report the discovery of the correlated optical/X-ray low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in black hole binary SWIFT J1753.5-0127. The phase lag between two light-curves at the QPO frequency is close to zero. This result puts strong constraints on the nature of the optical emission in this object and on the origin of the QPOs in general. We demonstrate that the QPO signal and the broadband variability can be explained in terms of the hot accretion flow radiating in both optical and X-ray bands. In this model, the QPO appears due to the Lense-Thirring precession of entire flow, while the broadband variability in the optical is produced by two components: the hot flow and the irradiated disc. Using the phase-lag spectra, we put a lower limit on the orbital inclination i>50 deg, which can be used to constrain the mass of the compact object.
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