Related papers: Two More Bow Shocks and Off-Center Halpha Nebulae …
We report the serendipitous discovery of a bow-shock nebula around the cataclysmic variable (CV) SY Cancri. In addition, SY Cnc lies near the edge of a faint Halpha-emitting nebula with a diameter of about 15'. The orientation of the bow…
We present deep images of the faint nebulosity StDr 90, which we have discovered surrounds the cataclysmic variable (CV) star FY Vulpeculae. Archival photometric and spectroscopic observations, and a new optical spectrum, confirm that FY…
Bow shocks around cataclysmic variables (CVs) have traditionally been identified with a single bright optical arc. This feature has been interpreted as the bow shock formed by the interaction between a sustained outflow and the interstellar…
We present the results of a search for nova shells around 101 cataclysmic variables (CVs), using Halpha images taken with the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric Halpha Survey of the…
The morphology and optical spectrum of IPHASXJ210205+471015, a nebula classified as a possible planetary nebula, are however strikingly similar to those of ATCnc, a classical nova shell around a dwarf nova. To investigate its true nature,…
I provide a review of observations in the optical, UV (HST), and EUV (EUVE and Chandra LETG) of the rapid periodic oscillations of nonmagnetic, disk-accreting, high mass-accretion rate cataclysmic variables (CVs), with particular emphasis…
Aims: We present discovery observations of the new cataclysmic variable star (CV) 1RXS J092737.4-191529, as well as spectra and photometry of SY Vol. The selection technique that turned up these two CVs is described; it should be efficient…
Pulsars traveling at supersonic speeds are often accompanied by cometary bow shocks seen in Halpha. We report on the first detection of a pulsar bow shock in the far-ultraviolet (FUV). We detected it in FUV images of the nearest millisecond…
V341 Arae is a 10th-magnitude variable star in the southern hemisphere, discovered over a century ago by Henrietta Leavitt but relatively little studied since then. Although historically considered to be a Cepheid, it is actually blue and…
Strong selection effects are present in observational samples of cataclysmic variables (CVs), complicating comparisons to theoretical predictions. The selection criteria used to define most CV samples discriminate heavily against the…
V341 Ara was recently recognised as one of the closest (d ~ 150 pc) and brightest (V~ 10) nova-like cataclysmic variables. This unique system is surrounded by a bright emission nebula, likely to be the remnant of a recent nova eruption.…
We have detected an Halpha bow shock nebula around PSR J1741-2054, a pulsar discovered through its GeV gamma-ray pulsations. The pulsar is only ~1.5" behind the leading edge of the shock. Optical spectroscopy shows that the nebula is…
We report the discovery of an H-alpha-emitting bow-shock nebula powered by the nearby millisecond pulsar J2124-3358. The bow shock is very broad, and is highly asymmetric about the pulsar's velocity vector. This shape is not consistent with…
Pulsar wind nebulae are now well established as important probes both of neutron stars' relativistic winds and of the surrounding interstellar medium. Amongst this diverse group of objects, pulsar bow shocks have long been regarded as an…
We find that a non-axisymmetric bow shock model, with an appropriate choice of parameters, could fit the line splitting velocity field of the cone-like H$\alpha$ nebula in NGC 4945 better than a canonical cone model. Meanwhile, the bow…
We present observations of dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs), longer period dwarf nova oscillations (lpDNOs), and quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in 13 cataclysmic variable stars (CVs). In the six systems WW Cet, BP CrA, BR Lup, HP Nor, AG…
Stellar bow shocks are observed in a variety of interstellar environments and are shaped by the conditions of gas in the interstellar medium (ISM). In situ measurements of turbulent density fluctuations near stellar bow shocks are only…
We present photometry of 11 and spectroscopy of 35 potential cataclysmic variables from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey and vsnet-alerts. The photometry results include quasi-periodic oscillations…
We show that strong bow shocks are turbulent and non-universal near the head, but asymptote to a universal steady, self-similar, and analytically solvable flow in the downstream. The turbulence is essentially 3D, and has been confirmed by a…
We present Roche tomograms of the G5-G8 IV/V secondary star in the long-period cataclysmic variable BV Cen reconstructed from MIKE echelle data taken on the Magellan Clay 6.5-m telescope. The tomograms show the presence of a number of…