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X-ray luminosities of optically selected cataclysmic variables and application to the Galactic ridge X-ray emission

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journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-02, 12:09 authored by R. C. Reis, P. J. Wheatley, B. T. Gaensicke, Julian Paul Osborne
By studying Swift X-ray spectra of an optically selected, non-magnetic sample of nearby cataclysmic variables (CVs), we show that there is a population with X-ray luminosity much lower than accounted for in existing studies. We find an average 0.5–10.0 keV luminosity of 8×10[Superscript: 29]ergs[Superscript: −1] which is an order of magnitude lower than observed in previous samples. Looking at the co-added X-ray spectrum of 20 CVs, we show that the spectral properties of this optically selected, low X-ray luminosity sample – likely characteristic of the dominant population of CVs – resemble that of their brighter counterpart, as well as the X-ray emission originating in the Galactic ridge. It is argued that if the space density of CVs is greater than the current estimates, as it is indeed predicted by population synthesis models, then CVs can significantly contribute to the Galactic ridge emission.

History

Citation

Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society, 2013, 430 (3), pp. 1994-2001 (8)

Author affiliation

/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING/Department of Physics and Astronomy

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Published in

Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

issn

0035-8711

eissn

1365-2966

Acceptance date

2013-01-03

Copyright date

2013

Available date

2016-02-02

Publisher version

http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/430/3/1994

Language

en