Investigating AM Her Cataclysmic Variables with OPTIMA
Abstract
We focus on short--period eclipsing binaries that belong to a class of Cataclysmic Variables (CVs). They are known as polars and intermediate polars, closely resembling their prototype AM Herculis. These binaries consist of a red dwarf and a strongly magnetic white dwarf, having orbital periods of only a few hours. Monitoring eclipses of these typically faint sources demands high-time resolution photometry. We describe the very recent results obtained for two CVs, HU Aqr and DQ Her, which were observed with the Optical Pulsar Timing Analyzer (OPTIMA). The new observations of HU Aqr confirm that the O--C (Observed minus Calculated) diagrams exhibit variations known for this binary which can be explained by a single, massive Jupiter--like planet, possibly accompanied by a very distant companion.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1210.0884,
title = {Investigating AM Her Cataclysmic Variables with OPTIMA},
author = {Aga Słowikowska and Krzysztof Goździewski and Ilham Nasiroglu and Gottfried Kanbach and Arne Rau and Krzysztof Krzeszowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.0884},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
Proceedings of the 18th European White Dwarf Workshops -- EuroWD 12, Krak\'ow, Poland, 13-17 August, 2012, to be published by Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series (ASPCS), 4 pages, 2 figures