Measuring the masses of intermediate polars with NuSTAR: V709 Cas, NY Lup, and V1223 Sgr

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Shaw, A. W.
  • Heinke, Craig O.
  • Mukai, K.
  • Sivakoff, Gregory Robert
  • Tomsick, John A.
  • Rana, Vikram

• The X-ray spectra of intermediate polars can be modelled to give a direct measurement of white dwarf mass. Here, we fit accretion column models to NuSTAR spectra of three intermediate polars; V709 Cas, NY Lup, and V1223 Sgr in order to determine their masses. From fits to 3–78 keV spectra, we find masses of MWD=0.88+0.05−0.04M⊙, 1.16+0.04−0.02M⊙, and 0.75 ± 0.02 M⊙ for V709 Cas, NY Lup, and V1223 Sgr, respectively. Our measurements are generally in agreement with those determined by previous surveys of intermediate polars, but with typically a factor ∼2 smaller uncertainties. This work paves the way for an approved NuSTAR Legacy Survey of white dwarf masses in intermediate polars.

• Date created

  2018-01-01

• Subjects / Keywords

  • X-Rays: Binaries
  • Accretion
  • Novae
  • Cataclysmic Variables
  • Accretion Discs
  • White Dwarfs

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-9g91-p792

• License

  This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.