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Register a new userHard X-ray Emission Associated with White Dwarfs. IV. Signs of Accretion from Sub-stellar Companions
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KPD 0005+5106, with an effective temperature of $simeq$200,000 K, is one of the hottest white dwarfs (WDs). ROSAT unexpectedly detected hard ($sim$1 keV) X-rays from this apparently single WD. We have obtained Chandra observations that confirm the spatial coincidence of this hard X-ray source with KPD 0005+5106. We have also obtained XMM-Newton observations of KPD 0005+5106, as well as PG 1159$-$035 and WD 0121$-$756, which are also apparently single and whose hard X-rays were detected by ROSAT at 3$sigma$-4$sigma$ levels. The XMM-Newton spectra of the three WDs show remarkably similar shapes that can be fitted by models including a blackbody component for the stellar photospheric emission, a thermal plasma emission component, and a power-law component. Their X-ray luminosities in the $0.6-3.0$ keV band range from $4times10^{29}$ to $4times10^{30}$ erg~s$^{-1}$. The XMM-Newton EPIC-pn soft-band ($0.3-0.5$ keV) lightcurve of KPD 0005+5106 is essentially constant, but the hard-band ($0.6-3.0$ keV) lightcurve shows periodic variations. An analysis of the generalized Lomb-Scargle periodograms for the XMM-Newton and Chandra hard-band lightcurves finds a convincing modulation (false alarm probability of 0.41%) with a period of 4.7$pm$0.3 hr. Assuming that this period corresponds to a binary orbital period, the Roche radii of three viable types of companion have been calculated: M9V star, T brown dwarf, and Jupiter-like planet. Only the planet has a size larger than its Roche radius, although the M9V star and T brown dwarf may be heated by the WD and inflate past the Roche radius. Thus, all three types of companion may be donors to fuel accretion-powered hard X-ray emission.
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White dwarfs are routinely observed to have polluted atmospheres, and sometimes significant infrared excesses, that indicate ongoing accretion of circumstellar dust and rocky debris. Typically this debris is assumed to be in the form of a (circular) disc, and to originate from asteroids that passed close enough to the white dwarf to be pulled apart by tides. However, theoretical considerations suggest that the circularisation of the debris, which initially occupies highly eccentric orbits, is very slow. We therefore hypothesise that the observations may be readily explained by the debris remaining on highly eccentric orbits, and we explore the properties of such debris. For the generic case of an asteroid originating at several au from the white dwarf, we find that all of the tidal debris is always bound to the white dwarf and that the orbital energy distribution of the debris is narrow enough that it executes similar elliptical orbits with only a narrow spread. Assuming that the tidal field of the white dwarf is sufficient to minimise the effects of self-gravity and collisions within the debris, we estimate the time over which the debris spreads into a single elliptical ring, and we generate toy spectra and lightcurves from the initial disruption to late times when the debris distribution is essentially time steady. Finally we speculate on the connection between these simple considerations and the observed properties of these systems, and on additional physical processes that may change this simple picture.
The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on board Yohkoh revealed that the ejection of X-ray emitting plasmoid is sometimes observed in a solar flare. It was found that the ejected plasmoid is strongly accelerated during a peak in the hard X-ray emission of the flare. In this paper we present an examination of the GOES X 2.3 class flare that occurred at 14.51 UT on 2000 November 24. In the SXT images we found multiple plasmoid ejections with velocities in the range of 250-1500 km/s, which showed blob-like or loop-like structures. Furthermore, we also found that each plasmoid ejection is associated with an impulsive burst of hard X-ray emission. Although some correlation between plasmoid ejection and hard X-ray emission has been discussed previously, our observation shows similar behavior for multiple plasmoid ejection such that each plasmoid ejection occurs during the strong energy release of the solar flare. As a result of temperature-emission measure analysis of such plasmoids, it was revealed that the apparent velocities and kinetic energies of the plasmoid ejections show a correlation with the peak intensities in the hard X-ray emissions.
The photospheric emission of a white dwarf (WD) is not expected to be detectable in hard X-rays or the mid-IR. Hard X-ray (~1 keV) emission associated with a WD is usually attributed to a binary companion; however, emission at 1 keV has been detected from three WDs without companions: KPD 0005+5106, PG 1159, and WD 2226-210. The origin of their hard X-ray emission is unknown, although it has been suggested that WD 2226-210 has a late-type companion whose coronal activity is responsible for the hard X-rays. Recent Spitzer observations of WD 2226-210 revealed mid-IR excess emission indicative of the existence of a dust disk. It now becomes much less clear whether WD 2226-210s hard X-ray emission originates from the corona of a late-type companion or from the accretion of the disk material. High-quality X-ray observations and mid-IR observations of KPD 0005+5106 and PG 1159 are needed to help us understand the origin of their hard X-ray emission.
The element beryllium is detected for the first time in white dwarf stars. This discovery in the spectra of two helium-atmosphere white dwarfs was made possible only because of the remarkable overabundance of Be relative to all other elements, heavier than He, observed in these stars. The measured Be abundances, relative to chondritic, are by far the largest ever seen in any astronomical object. We anticipate that the Be in these accreted planetary bodies was produced by spallation of one or more of O, C, and N in a region of high fluence of particles of MeV or greater energy.
We report the identification of SDSS J121929.45+471522.8 as the third apparently isolated magnetic (B~18.5+/-1.0,MG) white dwarf exhibiting Zeeman-split Balmer emission lines. The star shows coherent variability at optical wavelengths with an amplitude of ~0.03mag and a period of 15.26h, which we interpret as the spin period of the white dwarf. Modelling the spectral energy distribution and Gaia parallax, we derive a white dwarf temperature of 7500+/-148K, a mass of 0.649+/-0.022Msun, and a cooling age of 1.5+/-0.1Gyr, as well as an upper limit on the temperature of a sub-stellar or giant planet companion of ~250K. The physical properties of this white dwarf match very closely those of the other two magnetic white dwarfs showing Balmer emission lines: GD356 and SDSS J125230.93$-$023417.7. We argue that, considering the growing evidence for planets and planetesimals on close orbits around white dwarfs, the unipolar inductor model provides a plausible scenario to explain the characteristics of this small class of stars. The tight clustering of the three stars in cooling age suggests a common mechanism switching the unipolar inductor on and off. Whereas Lorentz drift naturally limits the lifetime of the inductor phase, the relatively late onset of the line emission along the white dwarf cooling sequence remains unexplained.
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