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Download fileX-ray luminosities of optically selected cataclysmic variables and application to the Galactic ridge X-ray emission
journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-02, 12:09 authored by R. C. Reis, P. J. Wheatley, B. T. Gaensicke, Julian Paul OsborneBy 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.
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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 AstronomyVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
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Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical SocietyPublisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)issn
0035-8711eissn
1365-2966Acceptance date
2013-01-03Copyright date
2013Available date
2016-02-02Publisher DOI
Publisher version
http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/430/3/1994Language
enAdministrator link
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Keywords
Science & TechnologyPhysical SciencesAstronomy & AstrophysicsASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICSstars: luminosity function, mass functionnovae, cataclysmic variablesstars: white dwarfX-rays: binariesDIGITAL SKY SURVEYPULSATING WHITE-DWARFSHIGH-SPEED PHOTOMETRYNOVA PQ ANDROMEDAEEFFECTIVE TEMPERATURESULTRACAM OBSERVATIONSORBITAL PERIODSSPACE DENSITYDATA RELEASEEG CANCRI