KIC 9406652: A laboratory for tilted disks in cataclysmic variable stars

KIC 9406652 is a cataclysmic variable, sub-classified as an “IW And-type” star, which shows repeated standstills with oscillatory variations terminated by brightening. This system shows negative superhumps, semi-periodic variations having periods slightly shorter than the ∼6 hr orbital period, and super-orbital signals having ∼4 d periods, both of which are believed to originate from a precessing, tilted accretion disk. We have re-examined its Kepler light curve over 1500 d. In accordance with a cycle of IW And-type light variation, the frequency of negative superhumps showed reproducible variation: a rapid drop during the brightening and a gradual increase during the standstill. This is interpreted as a drastic change in the radial mass distribution and the expansion of the tilted disk, which is not expected from the existing models of IW And stars. The constancy in flux amplitudes of the negative superhumps confirms that their light source is the bright spot sweeping across the surface of the tilted disk. The frequencies of the negative superhumps and super-orbital signals varied in unison on long timescales, suggesting their common origin: the tilted disk. The orbital signals at the brightening were dominated by the irradiation of the secondary star and varied with the orientation of the tilted disk; the amplitude was maximized at the minimum of the super-orbital signals, and the light maximum shifted to early orbital phases as the super-orbital phase advanced. This is the first direct evidence that the disk is tilted out of the binary orbital plane and is retrogradely precessing. The tilt angle of the disk inferred from semi-amplitudes of super-orbital signals was lower than 3°. The diversity in light curves of the negative superhumps supports this and suggests that part of the gas stream overflows the disk edge. This study thus offers rich information about the tilted disk in cataclysmic variables.

Discovery of diffuse optical emission lines from the inner Galaxy: Evidence for LI(N)ER-like gas

Optical emission lines are used to categorize galaxies into three groups according to their dominant central radiation source: active galactic nuclei, star formation, or low-ionization (nuclear) emission regions [LI(N)ERs] that may trace ionizing radiation from older stellar populations. Using the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper, we detect optical line emission in low-extinction windows within eight degrees of Galactic Center. The emission is associated with the 1.5-kiloparsec-radius “Tilted Disk” of neutral gas. We modify a model of this disk and find that the hydrogen gas observed is at least 48% ionized. The ratio [NII] λ6584 angstroms/Hα λ6563 angstroms increases from 0.3 to 2.5 with Galactocentric radius; [OIII] λ5007 angstroms and Hβ λ4861 angstroms are also sometimes detected. The line ratios for most Tilted Disk sightlines are characteristic of LI(N)ER galaxies.

Periodically repeating fast radio bursts: Lense–Thirring precession of a debris disk?

Recently, repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) with a period of PFRB = 16.35 ± 0.18 d from FRB 180916.J0158+65 were reported. It still remains controversial how such a periodicity might arise for this FRB. In this Letter, based on an assumption of a young pulsar surrounding by a debris disk, we attempt to diagnose whether Lense–Thirring precession of the disk on the emitter can produce the observed periodicity. Our calculations indicate that the Lense–Thirring effect of a tilted disk can result in a precession period of 16 d for a mass inflow rate of 0.5–1.5 × 1018 g s−1, a pulsar spin period of 1–20 ms, and an extremely low viscous parameter α = 10−8 in the disk. The disk mass and the magnetic field of the pulsar are also constrained to be ∼10−3 M⊙ and <2.5 × 1013 G. In our model, a new-born pulsar with normal magnetic field and millisecond period would successively experience the accretion and propeller phases, and is visible as a strong radio source in the current stage. The rotational energy of such a young neutron star can provide the observed radio bursting luminosity for 400 yr.

IW And-type state in IM Eridani

IW And stars are a recently recognized group of dwarf novae which are characterized by a repeated sequence of brightening from a standstill-like phase with damping oscillations followed by a deep dip. Kimura et al. (2019, PASJ, submitted) recently proposed a model based on thermal-viscous disk instability in a tilted disk to reproduce the IW And-type characteristics. IM Eri experienced the IW And-type phase in 2018 and we recorded three cycles of the (damping) oscillation phase terminated by brightening. We identified two periods during the IW And-type state: 4–5 d small-amplitude (often damping) oscillations and a 34–43 d long cycle. This behavior is typical for an IW And-type star. The object gradually brightened within the long cycle before the next brightening, which terminated the (damping) oscillation phase. This observation agrees with the increasing disk mass during the long cycle predicted by the Kimura et al. model of thermal-viscous disk instability in a tilted disk. We did not, however, succeed in detecting negative superhumps, which are considered to be the signature of a tilted disk.