Optical Studies of 10 Hard X-Ray-selected Cataclysmic Binaries

We conducted time-resolved optical spectroscopy and/or photometry of 10 cataclysmic binaries that were discovered in hard X-ray surveys, with the goal of measuring their orbital periods and searching for evidence that they are magnetic. Four of the objects in this study are new optical identifications: IGR J18017−3542, PBC J1841.1+0138, IGR J18434−0508, and Swift J1909.3+0124. A 311.8 s, coherent optical pulsation is detected from PBC J1841.1+0138, as well as eclipses with a period of 0.221909 days. A 152.49 s coherent period is detected from IGR J18434−0508. A probable period of 389 s is seen in IGR J18151−1052, in agreement with a known X-ray spin period. We also detect a period of 803.5 s in an archival X-ray observation of Swift J0717.8−2156. The last four objects are thus confirmed magnetic cataclysmic variables of the intermediate polar class. An optical period of 1554 s in AX J1832.3−0840 also confirms the known X-ray spin period, but a stronger signal at 2303 s is present whose interpretation is not obvious. We also studied the candidate intermediate polar Swift J0820.6−2805, which has low and high states differing by ≈4 mag and optical periods or quasi-periodic oscillations not in agreement with proposed X-ray periods. Of note is an unusually long 2.06-day orbital period for Swift J1909.3+0124, manifest in the radial velocity variation of photospheric absorption lines of an early K-type companion star. The star must be somewhat evolved if it is to fill its Roche lobe.

Magnetic white dwarfs in post-common-envelope binaries

ABSTRACT Magnitude-limited samples have shown that 20–25 per cent of cataclysmic variables contain white dwarfs with magnetic fields of Mega Gauss strength, in stark contrast to the approximately 5 per cent of single white dwarfs with similar magnetic field strengths. Moreover, the lack of identifiable progenitor systems for magnetic cataclysmic variables leads to considerable challenges when trying to understand how these systems form and evolve. Here, we present a sample of six magnetic white dwarfs in detached binaries with low-mass stellar companions where we have constrained the stellar and binary parameters including, for the first time, reliable mass estimates for these magnetic white dwarfs. We find that they are systematically more massive than non-magnetic white dwarfs in detached binaries. These magnetic white dwarfs generally have cooling ages of more than 1 Gyr and reside in systems that are very close to Roche lobe filling. Our findings are more consistent with these systems being temporarily detached cataclysmic variables, rather than pre-cataclysmic binaries, but we cannot rule out the latter possibility. We find that these systems can display unusual asymmetric light curves that may offer a way to identify them in larger numbers in future. Seven new candidate magnetic white dwarf systems are also presented, three of which have asymmetric light curves. Finally, we note that several newly identified magnetic systems have archival spectra where there is no clear evidence of magnetism, meaning that these binaries have been previously missed. Nevertheless, there remains a clear lack of younger detached magnetic white dwarf systems.

Periodic X-ray sources in the Galactic bulge: application of the Gregory–Loredo algorithm

ABSTRACT We present a systematic study of periodic X-ray sources in the Limiting Window (LW), a ∼70 arcmin2 field representative of the inner Galactic bulge and the target of ∼1 Ms Chandra observations. Using the Gregory–Loredo algorithm, which applies Bayes’s theorem to the phase-folded light curve and is well suited for irregularly sampled X-ray data, we detect 25 periodic signals in 23 discrete sources, among which 15 signals are new discoveries and two sources show dual periods. The vast majority of the 23 periodic sources are classified as magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs), based on their period range, X-ray luminosities, spectral properties, and phase-folded light curves that are characteristic of spin modulation. Meanwhile, there is a paucity of non-magnetic CVs seen as periodic sources, which can be understood as due to a low detection efficiency for eclipsing sources. Under reasonable assumptions about the geometry of magnetic CVs and a large set of simulated X-ray light curves, we estimate the fraction of magnetic CVs in the inner Galactic bulge to be ≲23 per cent, which is similar to that in the solar neighbourhood. There is an apparent lack of long-period (≳3.3 h) CVs in the LW, when contrasted with the range of known CVs in the solar neighbourhood. We suggest that this might be an age effect, in the sense that CVs in the inner bulge are more evolved systems and have substantially shrunk their orbits.

Measuring the masses of magnetic white dwarfs: a NuSTAR legacy survey

ABSTRACT The hard X-ray spectrum of magnetic cataclysmic variables can be modelled to provide a measurement of white dwarf mass. This method is complementary to radial velocity measurements, which depend on the (typically rather uncertain) binary inclination. Here, we present results from a Legacy Survey of 19 magnetic cataclysmic variables with NuSTAR. We fit accretion column models to their 20–78 keV spectra and derive the white dwarf masses, finding a weighted average $\bar{M}_{\rm WD}=0.77\pm 0.02$ M⊙, with a standard deviation σ = 0.10 M⊙, when we include the masses derived from previous NuSTAR observations of seven additional magnetic cataclysmic variables. We find that the mass distribution of accreting magnetic white dwarfs is consistent with that of white dwarfs in non-magnetic cataclysmic variables. Both peak at a higher mass than the distributions of isolated white dwarfs and post-common-envelope binaries. We speculate as to why this might be the case, proposing that consequential angular momentum losses may play a role in accreting magnetic white dwarfs and/or that our knowledge of how the white dwarf mass changes over accretion–nova cycles may also be incomplete.

Evidence for reduced magnetic braking in polars from binary population models

ABSTRACT We present the first population synthesis of synchronous magnetic cataclysmic variables, called polars, taking into account the effect of the white dwarf (WD) magnetic field on angular momentum loss. We implemented the reduced magnetic braking (MB) model proposed by Li, Wu & Wickramasinghe into the Binary Stellar Evolution (bse) code recently calibrated for cataclysmic variable (CV) evolution. We then compared separately our predictions for polars and non-magnetic CVs with a large and homogeneous sample of observed CVs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We found that the predicted orbital period distributions and space densities agree with the observations if period bouncers are excluded. For polars, we also find agreement between predicted and observed mass transfer rates, while the mass transfer rates of non-magnetic CVs with periods ≳3 h drastically disagree with those derived from observations. Our results provide strong evidence that the reduced MB model for the evolution of highly magnetized accreting WDs can explain the observed properties of polars. The remaining main issues in our understanding of CV evolution are the origin of the large number of highly magnetic WDs, the large scatter of the observed mass transfer rates for non-magnetic systems with periods ≳3 h, and the absence of period bouncers in observed samples.

Two new magnetic cataclysmic variables discovered in the 3XMM catalogue

Context. X-ray catalogues provide a wealth of information on many source types, ranging from compact objects to galaxies, clusters of galaxies, stars, and even planets. Thanks to the huge volume of X-ray sources provided in the 3XMM catalogue, along with many source specific products, many new examples from rare classes of sources can be identified. Aims. Through visualising spectra and lightcurves from about 80 observations included in the incremental part of the 3XMM catalogue, 3XMM-DR5, as part of the quality control of the catalogue, we identified two new X-ray sources, 3XMM J183333.1+225136 and 3XMM J184916.1+652943, that were highly variable. This work aims to investigate their nature. Methods. Through simple model fitting of the X-ray spectra and analysis of the X-ray lightcurves of 3XMM J183333.1+225136 and 3XMM J184916.1+652943, along with complementary photometry from the XMM-Newton Optical Monitor, Pan-STARRS and the Stella/WiFSIP and Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) spectra, we suggest that the two sources might be magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs) of the polar type and we determine some of their properties. Results. Both CVs have very hard spectra, showing no soft excess. They are both situated in the local neighbourhood, located within ~1 kpc. 3XMM J183333.1+225136 has an orbital period of 2.15 h. It shows features in the lightcurve that may be a total eclipse of the white dwarf. 3XMM J184916.1+652943 has an orbital period of 1.6 h. Given that only a small sky area was searched to identify these CVs, future sensitive all sky surveys such as the eROSITA project should be very successful at uncovering large numbers of such sources.