Related papers: Is Mira B a low mass white dwarf?
The pulsating hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf star G 117-B15A has been observed since 1974. Its main pulsation period at 215.19738823(63) s, observed in optical light curves, varies by only (5.12+/-0.82)x10^{-15} s/s and shows no glitches,…
Searches for magnetic fields in white dwarfs have clarified both the frequency of occurrence and the global structure of the fields found down to field strengths of the order of 500 kG. Below this level, the situation is still very unclear.…
The near and mid-infrared characteristics of large amplitude, Mira, variables in Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies (LMC, NGC 6822, IC 1613, Sgr dIG) are described. Two aspects of these variables are discussed. First, the short period (P…
We report imaging observations of the symbotic long-period Mira variable R Aquarii (R Aqr) at near-infrared and radio wavelengths. The near-infrared observations were made with the IOTA imaging interferometer in three narrow-band filters…
We report the discovery of a magnetic white dwarf which shows periodic variability with P=110 min, color-dependent amplitudes and a transient phase shift in the blue compared to the red lightcurve - a previously unknown type of variability…
White dwarfs stars are known to be polluted by their active planetary systems, but little attention has been paid to the accretion of wind from low-mass companions. The capture of stellar or substellar wind by white dwarfs is one of few…
White dwarfs inspiraling into black holes of mass $\MBH\simgt 10^5M_\odot$ are detectable sources of gravitational waves in the LISA band. In many of these events, the white dwarf begins to lose mass during the main observational phase of…
Magnetic cataclysmic variables provide a natural laboratory for studying how accretion interacts with compact-object magnetospheres and generates stochastic variability. We present an optical variability study of the intermediate-polar…
We report on the results of optical, near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared observations of the black hole X-ray binary candidate (BHB) MAXI J1535-571 during its 2017/2018 outburst. During the first part of the outburst (MJD 58004-58012), the…
J191213.72-441045.1 is a binary system composed of a white dwarf and an M-dwarf in a 4.03-hour orbit. It shows emission in radio, optical, and X-ray, all modulated at the white dwarf spin period of 5.3 min, as well as various orbital…
The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment identified over 1,800 carbon-rich Mira and semi-regular variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Multi-epoch infrared photometry reveals that the semi-regulars and Miras follow different…
We describe the time-dependent properties of a new spectroscopically confirmed Mira variable, which was discovered in 2013 as MASTER-Net Optical Transient (OT) J212444.87+321738.3 towards the Cygnus constellation. We have performed…
Late M-type dwarfs in the solar neighborhood include a mixture of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs which is difficult to disentangle due to the lack of constraints on their age such as trigonometric parallax, lithium detection and space…
The fundamental properties of low-mass stars are not as well understood as those of their more massive counterparts. The best method for constraining these properties, especially masses and radii, is to study eclipsing binary systems, but…
We present spectrophotometry of the eclipsing old nova BT Mon (Nova Mon 1939). By detecting weak absorption features from the secondary star, we find its radial velocity semi-amplitude to be K_R = 205+/-5 km/s and its rotational velocity to…
We report the first radial velocity spectroscopic study of the eclipsing period bouncer SDSS J105754.25+275947.5. Together with eclipse light curve modeling, we redetermined the system parameters and studied the accretion disk structure. We…
The magnetic white dwarf SDSS J121209.31+013627.7 exhibits a weak, narrow Halpha emission line whose radial velocity and strength are modulated on a period of ~90 minutes. Though indicative of irradiation on a nearby companion, no cool…
Accreting magnetic white dwarfs offer an opportunity to understand the interplay between spin-up and spin-down torques in binary systems. Monitoring of the white dwarf spin may reveal whether the white dwarf spin is currently in a state of…
We present imaging circular polarimetry and near-infrared photometry of the suspected ultra-short period white-dwarf binary RX J0806.3+1527 obtained with the ESO VLT and discuss the implications for a possible magnetic nature of the white…
Recent results of microlensing surveys, show that 10-20% of the dark halo mass of the Milky Way consists of compact objects. The masses of these compact objects range from 0.1 to 1 solar mass. New theoretical cooling models for white…