scholarly journals Do We See Magnetic Effects in Dwarf Nova Outbursts?

1995 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 285-285
Author(s):  
N. Vogt ◽  
E. Meyer-Hofmeister ◽  
F. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Accretion Disk ◽  
White Dwarf ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Dwarf Novae ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Cyclic Behaviour ◽  
Nova Outbursts

Many observations indicate that fast rotating late type stars show magnetic activity. We therefore argue that some of the secondary stars in cataclysmic binaries might also have magnetic fields. Such magnetic fields would reach over the accretion disk around the white dwarf primary. We investigate their effect on dwarf nova outbursts. The magnetic field lines will penetrate the disk and remove angular momentum. This shifts the accumulation of mass towards the inner disk, closer to the white dwarf, and therefore leads to a different outburst behaviour, which can be recognized in observed light curves of dwarf novae. If a magnetic field of the order 50 - 100 gauss is acting on the accretion disk, we expect narrower and more frequent outbursts as compared to the non-magnetic case. Outburst records of three dwarf novae above the period gap (P > 3h), whose long-term light curves are well covered, were used to search for traces of magnetic activity. All three cases display a pronounced bimodality in the distribution of their outburst width, i.e. either narrow or wide outbursts occur. We found evidence for a cyclic behaviour in one case, SS Aur: possible “magnetic episodes” repeating every 18 years reveal epochs with abnormally frequent narrow outbursts and nearly or totally missing wide ones. There are also indications for a similar behaviour of SS Cyg with a 7-years cycle, but with less pronounced periodicity. The third case, U Gem, does not show clear evidence of magnetic activity although we found some indications for a transitory oscillation of the width of wide outbursts after 1926, with a period of 13.6 years. The behaviour of SS Aur and SS Cyg resembles the theoretical predictions, there is, however, an important difference: Throughout the entire cycle, marked by the “magnetic episodes”, neither wide nor narrow outbursts alter their mean light curves: magnetic fields seem to affect only the observed proportion in the frequency of both outburst types without altering the light curves of individual outbursts. Remarkably, most of the “anomalous outbursts” (which are characterized by an abnormally slow rising branch to an outburst) occur also at or near the “magnetic episodes”.

scholarly journals Superoutbursts and Superhumps of SU UMa Stars

1988 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 238-239
Author(s):  
Yoji Osaki ◽  
Masahito Hirose
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Orbital Period ◽  
White Dwarf ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Roche Lobe ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Close Binary ◽  
Dwarf Novae ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Close Binary Systems

SU UMa stars are one of subclasses of dwarf novae. Dwarf novae are semi-detached close binary systems in which a Roche-lobe filling red dwarf secondary loses matter and the white dwarf primary accretes it through the accretion disk. The main characteristics of SU UMa subclass is that they show two kinds of outbursts: normal outbursts and superoutbursts. In addition to the more frequent narrow outbursts of normal dwarf nova, SU UMa stars exhibit “superoutbursts”, in which stars reach about 1 magnitude brighter and stay longer than in normal outburst. Careful photometric studies during superoutburst have almost always revealed the “superhumps”: periodic humps in light curves with a period very close to the orbital period of the system. However, the most curious of all is that this superhump period is not exactly equal to the orbital period, but it is always longer by a few percent than the orbital period.

scholarly journals Flickering around the outburst cycle in Kepler dwarf novae

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Bruch
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Index ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Dwarf Novae ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
New Feature ◽  
Nova Outbursts ◽  
High Cadence

Abstract Taking advantage of the unparallel quantity and quality of high cadence Kepler light curves of several dwarf novae, the strength of the flickering and the high frequency spectral index of their power spectra are investigated as a function of magnitude around the outburst cycle of these systems. Previous work suggesting that the flickering strength (on a magnitude scale) is practically constant above a given brightness threshold and only rises at fainter magnitudes is confirmed for most of the investigated systems. As a new feature, a hysteresis in the flickering strength is seen in the sense that at the same magnitude level flickering is stronger during decline from outburst than during the rise. A similar hysteresis is also seen in the spectral index. In both cases, it can qualitatively be explained under plausible assumptions within the DIM model for dwarf nova outbursts.

scholarly journals EUVE Photometry of SS Cygni: Dwarf Nova Outbursts and Oscillations

1996 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 317-324
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Mauche
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Sinusoidal Oscillations ◽  
Deep Survey ◽  
Different Response ◽  
June July ◽  
Nova Outbursts

I present EUVE Deep Survey photometry and AAVSO optical measurements of the 1993 August and 1994 June/July outbursts of the dwarf nova SS Cygni. The EUV and optical light curves are used to illustrate the different response of the accretion disk to outbursts which begin at the inner edge and propagate outward, and those which begin at the outer edge and propagate inward. Furthermore, we describe the properties of the quasi-coherent 7-9 s sinusoidal oscillations in the EUV flux detected during the rise and plateau stages of these outbursts.

scholarly journals Dwarf nova outbursts in intermediate polars

2017 ◽  
Vol 602 ◽  
pp. A102 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Hameury ◽  
J.-P. Lasota
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Mass Transfer ◽  
White Dwarf ◽  
Accretion Disc ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Viscous Instability ◽  
Intermediate Polars ◽  
Nova Outbursts ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Context. The disc instability model (DIM) has been very successful in explaining the dwarf nova outbursts observed in cataclysmic variables. When, as in intermediate polars, the accreting white dwarf is magnetised, the disc is truncated at the magnetospheric radius, but for mass-transfer rates corresponding to the thermal-viscous instability such systems should still exhibit dwarf-nova outbursts. Yet, the majority of intermediate polars, in which the magnetic field is not large enough to completely disrupt the accretion disc, seem to be stable, and the rare observed outbursts, in particular in systems with long orbital periods, are much shorter than normal dwarf-nova outbursts. Aims. We investigate the predictions of the disc instability model for intermediate polars in order to determine which of the observed properties of these systems can be explained by the DIM. Methods. We use our numerical code for the time evolution of accretion discs, modified to include the effects of the magnetic field, with constant or variable mass transfer from the secondary star. Results. We show that intermediate polars have mass transfer low enough and magnetic fields large enough to keep the accretion disc stable on the cold equilibrium branch. We show that the infrequent and short outbursts observed in long-period systems, such as, for example, TV Col, cannot be attributed to the thermal-viscous instability of the accretion disc, but instead have to be triggered by an enhanced mass-transfer from the secondary, or, more likely, by some instability coupling the white dwarf magnetic field with that generated by the magnetorotational instability operating in the accretion disc. Longer outbursts (a few days) could result from the disc instability.

scholarly journals The May 1985 Superoutburst of OY Carinae: I. Structure of the Outer Disk from Optical and IR Observations

1987 ◽  
Vol 93 ◽  
pp. 365-369
Author(s):  
T. Naylor ◽  
J. Bailey ◽  
F.M. Bateson ◽  
G. Berriman ◽  
P.A. Charles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disk ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Outer Disk ◽  
Cool Region

AbstractWe present optical and IR observations of the dwarf nova OY Car during the May 1985 superoutburst. From them we find that the superhump has a temperature of ~8000K and an area of order half the size of the red dwarf or accretion disk. We also compare the behaviour during two simultaneous optical/IR observations. Whilst the light curves in the two pass bands are similar during one observation, in the other observation they show marked differences that may be due to a cool region in the outer disk.

scholarly journals Pulsating white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables: The marriage of ZZ Cet and dwarf nova

2004 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 382-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Warner ◽  
Patrick A. Woudt
Keyword(s):  
White Dwarf ◽  
Large Amplitude ◽  
White Dwarfs ◽  
Cataclysmic Variables ◽  
Sloan Digital Sky Survey ◽  
Dwarf Novae ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Sky Survey

AbstractThere are now four dwarf novae known with white dwarf primaries that show large amplitude non-radial oscillations of the kind seen in ZZ Cet stars. We compare the properties of these stars and point out that by the end of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey more than 30 should be known.

scholarly journals Masses and Magnetic Fields of White Dwarfs in Cataclysmic Variables

1989 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 337-340
Author(s):  
J.P. Lasota ◽  
J.M. Hameury ◽  
A.R. King
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
White Dwarf ◽  
White Dwarfs ◽  
Cataclysmic Variables ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Drastic Reduction ◽  
Secondary Star ◽  
Maximum Magnetic Field

We show that the existence of the AM Her period spike implies (i) a unique white dwarf mass ≃ 0.6 − 0.7M⊙ for most magnetic CV’s (ii) nova explosions remove exactly the accreted mass from magnetic white dwarfs, and (iii) the maximum magnetic field for most CV’s is ≤ 4 × 107 G. The existence of the spike is very strong support for the idea that the period gap results from a drastic reduction of angular momentum losses when the secondary star becomes fully convective.

scholarly journals A Wave Model for Dwarf Novae

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 643-648
Author(s):  
Warren M. Sparks ◽  
G. Siegfried Kutter
Keyword(s):  
Binary System ◽  
White Dwarf ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Mathematical Representation ◽  
Coherent Oscillation ◽  
Dwarf Novae ◽  
Dwarf Nova ◽  
Nova Outburst

AbstractThe rapid coherent oscillation during a dwarf nova outburst is attributed to an accretion-driven wave going around the white dwarf component of the binary system. The increase and decrease in the period of this oscillation is due to the change in the velocity of the wave as it is first being driven and then damped. Qualitatively, a large number of observations can be explained with such a model. The beginnings of a mathematical representation of this model are developed.

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