Context. In quiescence, the proposed optical counterpart to the neutron star low mass X-ray binary 4U 2129+47 (V1727 Cyg) shows a spectrum consistent with a late F-type subgiant and no radial velocity variations on the 5.24 hour binary period. This could imply that V1727 Cyg is a chance line of sight interloper. Radial velocity measurements, however, showed evidence for a longer term ~40 km/s shift, which suggested that 4U 2129+47 could be a hierarchical triple system, with the F-type star in a wide orbit about the inner low mass X-ray binary. Aims. In order to confirm the long-term radial velocity shift reported in Garcia et al. (1989) and its amplitude, we obtained spectroscopic observations of V1727 Cyg during 1996 and 1998 with the William Herschel Telescope using the ISIS spectrograph. Methods. We determined radial velocities from the ISIS spectra by means of the cross-correlation technique with a template spectrum. Results. The resulting radial velocities show variations with a maximum amplitude of ~40 km/s, confirming previous results and supporting the F-type star as being the third body in a hierarchical triple system. The odds that this star could be an interloper are ~3e-6
Accreting black holes radiate in one of several spectral states, switching from one to another for reasons that are as yet not understood. Using the best studied example, Cyg X-1, we identify the geometry and physical conditions characterizing these states. In particular, we show that in the hard state most of the accretion energy is dissipated in a corona-like structure which fills the inner few tens of gravitational radii around the black hole and has Compton optical depth of order unity. In this state, an optically thick accretion disc extends out to greater distance, but penetrates only a …
We consider the high eccentricity, 0.66, of the newly discovered planet around 16 Cyg B, using the fact that the parent star is part of a wide binary. We show that the high eccentricity of the planet could be the result of tidal forces exerted on 16 Cyg B and its planet by 16 Cyg A, the distant companion in the system. By following stellar triple systems with parameters similar to those of 16 Cyg, we have established that the orbital eccentricity of the planet could have gone through strong modulation, with an amplitude of 0.8 or even larger, with typical timescale of tens of millions years. T…
AIMS: Nova Cyg 2006 has been intensively observed throughout its full outburst. We investigate the energetics and evolution of the central source and of the expanding ejecta, their chemical abundances and ionization structure, and the formation of dust. METHOD: We recorded low, medium, and/or high-resolution spectra (calibrated into accurate absolute fluxes) on 39 nights, along with 2353 photometric UBVRcIc measures on 313 nights, and complemented them with IR data from the literature. RESULTS: The nova displayed initially the normal photometric and spectroscopic evolution of a fast nova of th…
A characteristic feature of the Fourier Power Density Spectrum (PDS) observed from black hole X-ray binaries in low/hard and intermediate spectral states is a broad band-limited noise, characterized by a constant below some frequency (a ``break'' frequency) and a power law above this frequency. It has been shown that the variability of this type can be produced by the inward diffusion of the local driving perturbations in a bounded configuration (accretion disk or corona). In the framework of this model, the perturbation diffusion time t_0 is related to the phenomenological break frequency, wh…
Results from a study of Fe K-alpha emission lines for a sample of six non-magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) using the high resolution X-ray data from the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) are presented. Two of the sources, SS Cyg and U Gem are observed in both quiescent and outburst states whereas V603 Aql, V426 Oph, WX Hyi and SU UMa are observed only in quiescence. The fluorescent Fe line is prominent in V603 Aql, V426 Oph and SS Cyg during quiescence indicating the presence of a conspicuous reflection component in these sources. The observed equivalent width of the fluoresc…
The Black Hole (BH) binary Cygnus X-1 has been observed simultaneously by INTEGRAL, RXTE, and XMM-Newton for four times in November and December 2004, when Cyg X-1 became first observable with XMM-Newton. During these observations the source was found in one of its transitional states between the hard state and the soft state. We obtained a high signal to noise spectrum of Cyg X-1 from 3 keV to 1 MeV which allows us to put constraints on the nature of the Comptonizing plasma by modeling the continuum with Comptonization models as eqpair (Coppi 1992). Using XMM-Newton we were also able to confi…
We present a preliminary analysis of the 1--10 keV spectrum of the massive X-ray binary Cyg X-3, obtained with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The source reveals a richly detailed discrete emission spectrum, with clear signatures of photoionization-driven excitation. Among the spectroscopic novelties in the data are the first astrophysical detections of a number of He-like 'triplets' (Si, S, Ar) with emission line ratios characteristic of photoionization equilibrium, fully resolved narrow radiative recombination continua of Mg, Si, and S, the…
The X-ray binary Cygnus X-3 is a highly variable X-ray source that displays a wide range of observed spectral states. One of the main states is significantly harder than the others, peaking at ~ 20 keV, with only a weak low-energy component. Due to the enigmatic nature of this object, hidden inside the strong stellar wind of its Wolf-Rayet companion, it has remained unclear whether this state represents an intrinsic hard state, with truncation of the inner disc, or whether it is just a result of increased local absorption. We study the X-ray light curves from RXTE/ASM and CGRO/BATSE in terms o…
We report on the discovery of over 50 strong Halpha emitting objects towards the large OB association Cyg OB2 and the HII region DR 15 on its southern periphery. This was achieved using the INT Photometric Halpha Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), combined with follow-up spectroscopy using the MMT multi-object spectrometer HectoSpec. We present optical spectra, supplemented with optical r', i' and Halpha photometry from IPHAS, and near-infrared J, H, and K photometry from 2MASS. The position of the objects in the (J - H) versus (H - K) diagram strongly suggests most of them are you…
Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the fourth set of ten close binary systems: 44 Boo, FI Boo, V2150 Cyg, V899 Her, EX Leo, VZ Lib, SW Lyn, V2377 Oph, Anon Psc (GSC 8-324), HT Vir. All systems are double-lined spectroscopic binaries with only two of them not being contact systems (SW Lyn and GSC 8-324) and with five (FI Boo, V2150 Cyg, V899 Her, EX Leo, V2377 Oph) being the recent photometric discoveries of the Hipparcos satellite project. Five of the binaries are triple-lined systems (44 Boo, V899 Her, VZ Lib, SW Lyn, HT Vir).…
The luminous X-ray binary Circinus X-1 has been observed twice near zero orbital phase using the High-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) onboard Chandra. The source was in a high-flux state during a flare for the first observation, and it was in a low-flux state during a dip for the second. Spectra from both flux states show clear P Cygni lines, predominantly from H-like and He-like ion species. These indicate the presence of a high-velocity outflow from the Cir X-1 system which we interpret as an equatorial accretion-disk wind, and from the blueshifted resonance absorption lines…
We present the CCD photometry, light curve and time series analysis of the classical nova V2275 Cyg (N Cyg 2001 No.2). The source was observed for 14 nights in total using an R filter in 2002 and 2003 with the 1.5 m Russian-Turkish joint telescope (RTT150) at the TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) National Observatory in Antalya Turkey, as part of a large program on the CCD photometry of Cataclysmic Variables (CVs). We report the detection of two distinct periodicities in the light curve of the nova : a) P_1=0.31449(15) d -- 7.6 h, b) P_2=0.017079(17) d -- 24.6 m…
(Abridged) We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the eclipsing system V1061 Cyg (P = 2.35 days). We show that it is a hierarchical triple in which the third star is visible in the spectra. We combine the radial velocities for the three stars, times of eclipse, and intermediate astrometric data from the HIPPARCOS mission (abscissa residuals) to establish the elements of the outer orbit (P = 15.8 yr) and accurate values for the masses and radii (1-2% errors) and the effective temperatures of the binary components. Both stars are rotating rapidly and have their rotation synchro…
Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the sixth set of ten close binary systems: SV Cam, EE Cet, KR Com, V410 Cyg, GM Dra, V972 Her, ET Leo, FS Leo, V2388 Oph, II UMa. All systems except FS Leo are double-lined spectroscopic binaries. The type of FS Leo is unknown while SV Cam is a close, detached binary; all remaining systems are contact binaries. Eight binaries (all except SV Cam and V401 Cyg) are the recent photometric discoveries of the Hipparcos satellite project. Five systems, EE Cet, KR Com, V401 Cyg, V2388 Oph, II UMa, are…
We have analyzed archival ASCA data on the soft X-ray transient source V404 Cyg in quiescence. We find that in the energy range 0.7 to 8.5 keV the spectrum is a hard power-law with a photon spectral index between 1.8 and 2.6 (90% confidence limits). We present a model of V404 Cyg in which the accretion flow has two components: (1) an outer thin disk with a small annular extent, and (2) a large interior region where the flow is advection-dominated. Nearly all the radiation in the infrared, optical, UV and X-ray bands is from the advection-dominated zone; the thin disk radiates primarily in the …
We derive octupole-level secular perturbation equations for hierarchical triple systems, using classical Hamiltonian perturbation techniques. By extending previous work done to leading (quadrupole) order to octupole level (i.e., including terms of order alpha^3, where alpha = a_1/a_2 < 1 is the ratio of semimajor axes) we obtain expressions that are applicable to a much wider range of parameters. For triple systems containing a close inner binary, we also discuss the possible interaction between the classical Newtonian perturbations and the general relativistic precession of the inner orbit. I…
The COMPTEL observations of the diffuse galactic 1.809 MeV emission attributed to the radioactive decay of 26Al have confirmed the diffuse nature of this interstellar emission line. One of the most significant features of the reconstructed intensity pattern is a flux enhancement in the direction of the Cygnus region. This region is fairly young and contains a wealth of massive stars, most of them grouped in the Cygnus OB associations. Multi-frequency model fitting strongly supports the hypothesis of massive stars and their descendent supernovae being the dominant sources of interstellar 26Al a…
We present an analysis of Chandra ACIS observations of the field of TeV J2032+4130, the first unidentified TeV source, detected serendipitously by HEGRA. This deep (48.7 ksec) observation of the field follows up on an earlier 5 ksec Chandra director's discretionary observation. Of the numerous point-like X-ray sources in the field, the brightest are shown to be a mixture of early and late-type stars. We find that several of the X-ray sources are transients, exhibiting rapid increases in count rates by factors 3-10, and similar in nature to the one, hard absorbed transient source located in the…
The Hungarian-made Automated Telescope network (HATnet) is an ongoing project to detect transiting extra-solar planets using small aperture (11 cm diameter), robotic telescopes. In this paper we present the results from using image subtraction photometry to reduce a crowded stellar field observed with one of the HATnet telescopes (HAT-5). This field was chosen to overlap with the planned Kepler mission. We obtained I-band light curves for 98,000 objects in a 8.3x8.3 square degree field of view, near the Galactic plane in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra. These observations include 788 5-minu…
We report the detection of a low-mass companion orbiting the solar-type star HD178911B, the distant component of the stellar triple system HD178911. The variability of HD178911B was first detected using radial-velocity measurements obtained with the HIRES spectrograph mounted on the 10-m Keck1 telescope at the W.M. Keck Observatory (Hawaii, USA). We then started an intense radial-velocity follow up of the star with the ELODIE echelle spectrograph mounted on the 1.93-m telescope at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France) in order to derive its orbital solution. The detected planet candidate…
In a recent ROSAT observation, taken during its optical low state, we found that the VY Scl star V751 Cyg was a highly luminous source of soft X-rays. The ROSAT HRI count rate of V751 Cyg was a factor of 10-20 higher than upper limits obtained with ROSAT during previous observations, during which V751 Cyg happened to be in the optical high state. Analysis of the X-ray spectrum suggests a very low temperature (kT~15 eV) and a bolometric luminosity of 5*10^36 (D/500 pc)^2 erg/s. These values are characteristic of supersoft X-ray sources. Based on the supersoft nature of V751 Cyg and the similari…
We have made a multiwavelength study of the overlapping error boxes of the unidentified gamma-ray sources TeV J2032+4130 and 3EG J2033+4118 in the direction of the Cygnus OB2 association (d = 1.7 kpc) in order to search for a point-source counterpart of the first unidentified TeV source. Optical identifications and spectroscopic classifications for the brighter X-ray sources in ROSAT PSPC and Chandra ACIS images are obtained, without finding a compelling counterpart. The classified X-ray sources are a mix of early and late-type stars, with one exception. The brightest source in the Chandra obs…
Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital radial velocity variations are presented for ten close binary systems: EG Cep,V1191 Cyg, V1003 Her, BD+7_3142, V357 Peg, V407 Peg, V1123 Tau, V1128 Tau, HH UMa, and PY Vir. While most of the studied eclipsing systems are contact binaries, EG Cep is a detached or a semi-detached double-lined binary and V1003 Her is a close binary of an uncertain type seen at a very low inclination angle. We discovered two previously unknown triple systems, BD+7_3142 and PY Vir, both with late spectral-type (K2V) binaries. Of interest is the low-mas…
We present the results of a study with the \emph{Swift} Burst Alert Telescope in the 14 -- 195 keV range of the long-term variability of 5 low mass X-ray binaries with reported or suspected super-orbital periods -- 4U 1636-536, 4U 1820-303, 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 and Sco X-1. No significant persistent periodic modulation was detected around the previously reported periods in the 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 or Sco X-1 light curves. The $\sim$170 d period of 4U 1820-303 was detected up to 24 keV, consistent with variable accretion due to the previously proposed triple system model. The $\sim$46 d period …
We present the results of a study with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope in the 14 - 195 keV range of the long-term variability of 5 low mass X-ray binaries with reported or suspected super-orbital periods -- 4U 1636-536, 4U 1820-303, 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 and Sco X-1. No significant periodic modulation was detected around the previously reported values in the 4U 1916-053, Cyg X-2 or Sco X-1 light curves. The $\sim$170 d period of 4U 1820-303 was detected up to 24 keV, consistent with the proposed triple system model. The $\sim$46 d period in 4U 1636-536 was detected up to 100 keV, clearly incons…
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the superorbital modulation in the ultracompact X-ray source 4U 1820-303, consisting of a white dwarf accreting onto a neutron star. Based on RXTE data, we measure the fractional amplitude of the source superorbital variability (with a 170-d quasi-period) in the folded and averaged light curves, and find it to be by a factor of about 2. As proposed before, the superorbital variability can be explained by oscillations of the binary eccentricity. We now present detailed calculations of the eccentricity-dependent flow through the inner Lagrangian point, and …
AX J2049.6+2939 is a compact X-ray source in the vicinity of the southern blow-up region of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant (Miyata et al. 1998a). This source was the brightest X-ray source inside the Cygnus Loop observed during the ASCA survey project. The X-ray spectrum was well fitted by a power-law function with a photon index of $-2.1 \pm 0.1$. Short-term timing analysis was performed and no coherent pulsation was found. Follow-up observations with ASCA have revealed a large variation in X-ray intensity by a factor of $\simeq$ 50, whereas the spectral shape did not change within the sta…
We present results from the first high resolution, high S/N, spectrum of SN 2002ic. The resolved Halpha line has a P Cygni-type profile, clearly demonstrating the presence of a dense, slow-moving (100 km/s) outflow. We have additionally found a huge near-IR excess, hitherto unseen in type Ia SNe. We argue that this is due to an IR light-echo arising from the pre-existing dusty circumstellar medium. We deduce a CSM mass probably exceeding 0.3Msun produced by a mass loss rate greater than several times 10^-4 Msun/yr. For the progenitor, we favour a single degenerate system where the companion is…
A combination of high-resolution and wide-field imaging reveals two binary stars and one triple star system among the sample of the first 11 stars with planets detected by radial velocity variations. High resolution speckle or adaptive optics (AO) data probe subarcsecond scales down to the diffraction limit of the Keck 10-m or Lick 3-m, and direct images or AO images are sensitive to a wider field, extending to 10" or 38", depending upon the camera. One of the binary systems -- HD 114762 -- was not previously known to be a spatially resolved multiple system; additional data taken with the comb…
We show that the synthesis of carbon and oxygen through the triple-alpha process in red giant stars is extremely sensitive to the fine details of the nucleon-nucleon (N-N) interaction. A +/-0.5% change in the strength of the N-N force would reduce either the carbon or oxygen abundance by as much as a factor of 30-1000. This result may be used to constrain some fundamental parameters of the Standard Model.
