We use optical spectroscopy to investigate the disk, wind, and accretion during the 2008 Z CMa NW outburst. The emission lines are used to constrain the locations, densities, and temperatures of the structures around the star. Over 1000 optical emission lines reveal accretion, a variable, multi-component wind, and double-peaked lines of disk origin. The variable, non-axisymmetric, accretion-powered wind has slow (~0km/s ), intermediate (~-100km/s) and fast (>=-400km/s) components. The fast components are of stellar origin and disappear in quiescence, while the slow component is less variable and could be related to a disk wind. The changes in the optical depth of the lines between outburst and quiescence are consistent with increased accretion being responsible for the observed outburst. We derive an accretion rate of 10^-4^M_{sun}_/yr in outburst. The FeI and weak FeII lines arise from an irradiated, flared disk at ~0.5-3(M*/16M_{sun}_) au with asymmetric upper layers, revealing that the energy from the accretion burst is deposited at scales below 0.5au. Some line profiles have redshifted asymmetries, but the system is unlikely sustained by magnetospheric accretion, especially in outburst. The accretion-related structures extend over several stellar radii and, like the wind, are likely non-axisymmetric. The stellar mass may be ~6-8M_{sun}_, lower than previously thought (~16M_{sun}_). Emission line analysis is found to be a powerful tool to study the innermost regions and accretion in stars within a very large range of effective temperatures. The density ranges in the disk and accretion structures are higher than in late-type stars, but the overall behavior, including the innermost disk emission and variable wind, is very similar independently of the spectral type. Our work suggests a common outburst behavior for stars with spectral types ranging from M-type to intermediate-mass stars.
ZTF light curve of 51 stars in 12 globular clusters
Short Name:
J/AJ/162/63
Date:
21 Mar 2022 11:55:52
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
In this work, we aimed to derive the gri-band period-luminosity (PL) and period-luminosity-color (PLC) relations for late-type contact binaries, for the first time, located in globular clusters, using the homogeneous light curves collected by the Zwicky Transient Factory (ZTF). We started with 79 contact binaries in 15 globular clusters, and retained 30 contact binaries in 10 globular clusters that have adequate numbers of data points in the ZTF light curves and are unaffected by blending. Magnitudes at mean and maximum light of these contact binaries were determined using a fourth-order Fourier expansion, while extinction corrections were done using the Bayerstar2019 3D reddening map together with adopting the homogeneous distances to their host globular clusters. After removing early-type and "anomaly" contact binaries, our derived gri-band PL and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations exhibited a much larger dispersion with large errors on the fitted coefficients. Nevertheless, the gr-band PL and PW relations based on this small sample of contact binaries in globular clusters were consistent with those based on a larger sample of nearby contact binaries. Good agreements of the PL and PW relations suggested both samples of contact binaries in the local Solar neighborhood and in the distant globular clusters can be combined and used to derive and calibrate the PL, PW, and PLC relations. The final derived gr-band PL, PW, and PLC relations were much improved over those based on the limited sample of contact binaries in the globular clusters.
ZZ Ceti white dwarfs and candidates in Gaia survey
Short Name:
J/AJ/160/252
Date:
09 Mar 2022 22:00:00
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
The Gaia satellite recently released parallax measurements for ~260000 high-confidence white dwarf candidates, allowing for precise measurements of their physical parameters. By combining these parallaxes with Pan-STARRS and u-band photometry, we measured the effective temperature and stellar mass for all white dwarfs in the Northern Hemisphere within 100pc of the Sun, and identified a sample of ZZ-Ceti white dwarf candidates within the so-called instability strip. We acquired high-speed photometric observations for 90 candidates using the PESTO camera attached to the 1.6m telescope at the Mont-Megantic Observatory. We report the discovery of 38 new ZZ-Ceti stars, including two very rare ultramassive pulsators. We also identified five possibly variable stars within the strip, in addition to 47 objects that do not appear to show any photometric variability. However, several of those could be variable with an amplitude below our detection threshold, or could be located outside the instability strip due to errors in their photometric parameters. In the light of our results, we explore the trends of the dominant period and amplitude in the M--Teff plane, and briefly discuss the question of the purity of the ZZ-Ceti instability strip (i.e., a region devoid of non-variable stars).
