A spectrophotometric study of RW Trianguli

On the basis of spectrophotometric observations we reconstruct the accretion disk of the eclipsing novalike cataclysmic variable RW Tri in the wavelength region 3600-7000 A. We find a radial temperature profile that is, on average, consistent with that expected on the basis of the theory of opticall...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Groot, Paul J, Rutten, Rene G M, Jan van Paradijs
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 05.01.2004
Subjects
Accretion disks
Cataclysmic variables
Emission
Sex
Spectrophotometry
Temperature profiles
Velocity distribution
White dwarf stars
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Summary:On the basis of spectrophotometric observations we reconstruct the accretion disk of the eclipsing novalike cataclysmic variable RW Tri in the wavelength region 3600-7000 A. We find a radial temperature profile that is, on average, consistent with that expected on the basis of the theory of optically thick, steady state accretion disks and infer a mass-accretion rate in RW Tri of \~10e-8 solar masses per year. The line emission is dominated by two areas: one around the hot-spot region and one near the white dwarf. Both emission regions have appreciable vertical extension, and seem to be decoupled from the velocity field in the disk. In our observations RW Tri shows a number of features that are characteristic of the SW Sex sub-class of novalike stars. The appearance of a novalike system as a UX UMa/RW Tri or SW Sex star seems to be mainly governed by the mass-transfer rate from the secondary at the time of observation.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.0401029