Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii

We present a Chandra observation of the recurrent nova U Scorpii, done with the High Resolution camera-S (HRC-S) detector and the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) on day 18 after the observed visual maximum of 2010, and compare it with XMM-Newton observations obtained on days 23 and 35 after m...

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Publicado: 2013
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio
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spelling paper:paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio2023-06-08T15:01:34Z Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii Binaries-X-rays Cataclysmic variables-white dwarfs-stars Individual Stars U Scorpii U Scorpii-novae Winds-outflows-X-rays We present a Chandra observation of the recurrent nova U Scorpii, done with the High Resolution camera-S (HRC-S) detector and the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) on day 18 after the observed visual maximum of 2010, and compare it with XMM-Newton observations obtained on days 23 and 35 after maximum. The total absorbed flux was in the range 2.2-2.6 × 10 -11 erg cm -2 s -1 , corresponding to unabsorbed luminosity 7-8.5 × 10 36 ×(d/12 kpc) 2 for N(H) = 2-2.7 × 10 21 cm -2 . On day 18, 70 per cent of the soft X-tray flux was in a continuum typical of a very hot white dwarf (WD) atmosphere, which accounted for about 80 per cent of the flux on days 23 and 35. In addition, all spectra display very broad emission lines, due to higher ionization stages at later times. With Chandra we observed apparent P Cygni profiles. We find that these peculiar profiles are not due to blueshifted absorption and redshifted emission in photoionized ejecta, like the optical P Cyg of novae, but they are rather a superposition of WD atmospheric absorption features reflected by the already discovered Thomson scattering corona, and emission lines due to collisional ionization in condensations in the ejecta. On days 23 and 35, the absorption components were no longer measurable, having lost the initial large blueshift that displaced them from the core of the broad emission lines. We interpret this as an indication that mass-loss ceased between day 18 and day 23. On day 35, the emission line spectrum became very complex, with several different components. Model atmospheres indicate that theWD atmospheric temperature was about 730 000 K on day 18 and reached 900 000-1000 000 K on day 35. This peak temperature is consistent with a WD mass of at least 1.3 M⊙. © 2012 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2013 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Binaries-X-rays
Cataclysmic variables-white dwarfs-stars
Individual
Stars
U Scorpii
U Scorpii-novae
Winds-outflows-X-rays
spellingShingle Binaries-X-rays
Cataclysmic variables-white dwarfs-stars
Individual
Stars
U Scorpii
U Scorpii-novae
Winds-outflows-X-rays
Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
topic_facet Binaries-X-rays
Cataclysmic variables-white dwarfs-stars
Individual
Stars
U Scorpii
U Scorpii-novae
Winds-outflows-X-rays
description We present a Chandra observation of the recurrent nova U Scorpii, done with the High Resolution camera-S (HRC-S) detector and the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) on day 18 after the observed visual maximum of 2010, and compare it with XMM-Newton observations obtained on days 23 and 35 after maximum. The total absorbed flux was in the range 2.2-2.6 × 10 -11 erg cm -2 s -1 , corresponding to unabsorbed luminosity 7-8.5 × 10 36 ×(d/12 kpc) 2 for N(H) = 2-2.7 × 10 21 cm -2 . On day 18, 70 per cent of the soft X-tray flux was in a continuum typical of a very hot white dwarf (WD) atmosphere, which accounted for about 80 per cent of the flux on days 23 and 35. In addition, all spectra display very broad emission lines, due to higher ionization stages at later times. With Chandra we observed apparent P Cygni profiles. We find that these peculiar profiles are not due to blueshifted absorption and redshifted emission in photoionized ejecta, like the optical P Cyg of novae, but they are rather a superposition of WD atmospheric absorption features reflected by the already discovered Thomson scattering corona, and emission lines due to collisional ionization in condensations in the ejecta. On days 23 and 35, the absorption components were no longer measurable, having lost the initial large blueshift that displaced them from the core of the broad emission lines. We interpret this as an indication that mass-loss ceased between day 18 and day 23. On day 35, the emission line spectrum became very complex, with several different components. Model atmospheres indicate that theWD atmospheric temperature was about 730 000 K on day 18 and reached 900 000-1000 000 K on day 35. This peak temperature is consistent with a WD mass of at least 1.3 M⊙. © 2012 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.
title Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
title_short Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
title_full Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
title_fullStr Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
title_full_unstemmed Thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the X-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova U Scorpii
title_sort thomson scattering and collisional ionization in the x-ray grating spectra of the recurrent nova u scorpii
publishDate 2013
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00358711_v429_n2_p1342_Orio
_version_ 1768543886297268224