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SDSS 1507+52: A Halo Cataclysmic Variable?1

SDSS 1507+52: A Halo Cataclysmic Variable?1
SDSS 1507+52: A Halo Cataclysmic Variable?1
We report a photometric and spectroscopic study of the peculiar cataclysmic variable SDSS 1507+52. The star shows very deep eclipses on the 67-minute orbital period, and those eclipses are easily separable into white-dwarf and hot-spot components. This leads to tight constraints on binary parameters, with M1 = 0.83(8) M, M2 = 0.057(8) M, R1 = 0.0097(9) R, R2 = 0.097(4) R, q = 0.069(2), and i = 83.18(13)°. Such numbers suggest possible membership among the WZ Sge stars, a common type of dwarf nova. The spectroscopic behavior (strong and broad H emission, double-peaked and showing a classic rotational disturbance during eclipse) is also typical. But the star’s orbital period is shockingly below the “period minimum” of 77 minutes that is characteristic of hydrogen-rich CVs; producing such a strange binary will require some tinkering with the theory of cataclysmic-variable evolution. The proper motion is also remarkably high for a star of its distance, which we estimate from photometry and trigonometric parallax as 230 ± 40 pc. This suggests a transverse velocity of 164 ± 30 km s-1—uncomfortably high if the star belongs to a Galactic-disk population. These difficulties with understanding its evolution and space velocity can be solved if the star belongs to a Galactic-halo population.

510-522
Patterson, Joseph
0aa44156-24c1-4bc8-990f-60539b8ec72e
Thorstensen, John R.
1767dc0a-121c-4fc1-98f6-e08d51939eef
Knigge, Christian
ac320eec-631a-426e-b2db-717c8bf7857e
Patterson, Joseph
0aa44156-24c1-4bc8-990f-60539b8ec72e
Thorstensen, John R.
1767dc0a-121c-4fc1-98f6-e08d51939eef
Knigge, Christian
ac320eec-631a-426e-b2db-717c8bf7857e

Patterson, Joseph, Thorstensen, John R. and Knigge, Christian (2008) SDSS 1507+52: A Halo Cataclysmic Variable?1. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 120 (867), 510-522. (doi:10.1086/588615).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We report a photometric and spectroscopic study of the peculiar cataclysmic variable SDSS 1507+52. The star shows very deep eclipses on the 67-minute orbital period, and those eclipses are easily separable into white-dwarf and hot-spot components. This leads to tight constraints on binary parameters, with M1 = 0.83(8) M, M2 = 0.057(8) M, R1 = 0.0097(9) R, R2 = 0.097(4) R, q = 0.069(2), and i = 83.18(13)°. Such numbers suggest possible membership among the WZ Sge stars, a common type of dwarf nova. The spectroscopic behavior (strong and broad H emission, double-peaked and showing a classic rotational disturbance during eclipse) is also typical. But the star’s orbital period is shockingly below the “period minimum” of 77 minutes that is characteristic of hydrogen-rich CVs; producing such a strange binary will require some tinkering with the theory of cataclysmic-variable evolution. The proper motion is also remarkably high for a star of its distance, which we estimate from photometry and trigonometric parallax as 230 ± 40 pc. This suggests a transverse velocity of 164 ± 30 km s-1—uncomfortably high if the star belongs to a Galactic-disk population. These difficulties with understanding its evolution and space velocity can be solved if the star belongs to a Galactic-halo population.

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Published date: 1 May 2008

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Local EPrints ID: 144203
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/144203
PURE UUID: 53f019c0-903f-41bb-bac2-cc835dcae4cc

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Date deposited: 16 Apr 2010 15:24
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:45

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Author: Joseph Patterson
Author: John R. Thorstensen

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