Related papers: The Short Period Supersoft Source in M31
We report on the discovery of a periodic modulation in the bright supersoft X-ray source XMMU J004252.5+411540 detected in the 2000-2004 XMM-Newton observations of M31. The source exhibits X-ray pulsations with a period P~217.7 s and a…
The origin of strong magnetic fields in white dwarfs has been a puzzle for decades. Recently, a dynamo mechanism operating in rapidly rotating and crystallizing white dwarfs has been suggested to explain the occurrence rates of strong…
Luminous supersoft X-ray sources found in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds are likely white dwarfs that steadily or cyclically burn accreted matter on their surface, which are promising type Ia supernova progenitors. Observations of…
Assuming that white dwarf (WD) magnetic fields are generated by a crystallization- and rotation-driven dynamo, the impact of the late appearance of WD magnetic fields in cataclysmic variables (CVs) has been shown to potentially solve…
Missing from the usual considerations of nuclear burning white dwarfs as Type Ia supernova progenitors are systems with very higher mass transfer rates, where more material than is needed for steady burning accretes on the white dwarf. This…
Another outburst of the recurrent M31 nova M31N 2008-12a was announced in late November 2013. Optical data suggest an unprecedentedly short recurrence time of approximately one year. In this Letter we address the X-ray properties of M31N…
Supersoft X-ray sources are commonly believed to be stably burning white dwarfs. However, the observations of some supersoft sources show dramatic variability of their X-ray flux on timescales ranging from days to years. Here, we present…
We sketch a possible evolutionary scenario by which a highly magnetized super-Chandrasekhar white dwarf could be formed by accretion on to a commonly observed magnetized white dwarf. This is an exploratory study, when the physics in…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs possess a magnetic field with strengths ranging from a few kG up to about 1000 MG. However, the incidence of magnetism varies when the white dwarf population is broken down into different spectral…
It is predicted that half or more of all cataclysmic variables (CVs) should have evolved past the period minimum and now exist as so-called "period bouncers" where a white dwarf should be accreting from a Roche-lobe filling substellar…
The deepest X-ray images of M31, obtained with XMM-Newton, are examined in this paper to derive spectral and statistical properties of the population of the softest X-ray sources. Classifying supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) with criteria…
We present a binary evolution study of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and related systems with white dwarf accretors, including for example, AM CVn systems, classical novae, supersoft X-ray sources, and systems with giant donor stars. Our…
We obtained an optical spectrum of a star we identify as the optical counterpart of the M31 Chandra source CXO J004318.8+412016, because of prominent emission lines of the Balmer series, of neutral helium, and a He II line at 4686 Angstrom.…
We present the results of a study of the variability of X-ray sources in the central 30' of the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31) based on XMM Performance Verification observations. Two observations of this field, with a total exposure time of…
We present spectroscopy and photometry of the LMC supersoft binary system RX~J0513.9-6951. We derive a refined spectroscopic period of P$=0.761\pm0.004$~d, which is consistent with the value obtained from long term photometric monitoring…
Supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) are known as possible progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. The quasi-periodic variability has been detected in the optical light curves of SSSs. However, the exact origin of such quasi-periodic observable…
Supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) have been identified as white dwarfs accreting from binary companions and undergoing nuclear-burning of the accreted material on their surface. Although expected to be a relatively numerous population from both…
We report on phase-resolved optical spectroscopy and photometry in the R and B bands of the white dwarf candidate ZTF 185139.81+171430.3. The source has been reported to be variable with a large amplitude of close to 1 magnitude, in the R…
The presence of a strong magnetic field is a feature common to a significant fraction of degenerate stars, yet little is understood about field origin and evolution. New observational constraints from volume-limited surveys point to a more…
The nova-like variable AE Aquarii is a close binary system containing a red dwarf and a magnetized white dwarf rotating with the period of 33 seconds. A short spin period of the white dwarf is caused by an intensive mass exchange between…