Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, we numerically simulate steady state accretion discs for Cataclysmic Variable Dwarf Novae systems that have a secondary-to-primary mass ratio (0.35 \le q \le 0.55). After these accretion discs have come to quasi-equilibrium, we rotate each disc out of the orbital plane by (δ= (1, 2, 3, 4, 5,) or (20)^{o}) to induce negative superhumps. For accretion discs tilted $5^{o}$, we generate light curves and associated Fourier transforms for an atlas on negative superhumps and retrograde precession. Our simulation results suggest that accretion discs need to be tilted more than three degrees for negative superhumps to be statistically significant. We also show that if the disc is tilted enough such that the gas stream strikes a disc face, then a dense cooling ring is generated near the radius of impact.
In addition to the atlas, we study these artificially tilted accretion discs to find the source to negative superhumps. Our results suggest that the source is additional light from innermost disc annuli, and this additional light waxes and wanes with the amount of gas stream overflow received as the secondary orbits. The nodes, where the gas stream transitions from flowing over to under the disc rim (and vice versa), precess in the retrograde direction.
The origin of tilted disks in cataclysmic variables is explained in terms of a model involving the stream-disk interactions. Tilted, precessing disk causes periodically variable asymmetry in the irradiation of the two hemispheres of the secondary component, resulting in variable vertical component of the velocity of the stream. The following stream-disk interactions provide additional vertical acceleration to disk elements needed to produce and maintain disk tilt. Predictions based on this model compare favorably with observations.
Accretion disks around black hole, neutron star, and white dwarf systems are thought to sometimes tilt, retrogradely precess, and produce hump-shaped modulations in light curves that have a period shorter than the orbital period. Although artificially rotating numerically simulated accretion disks out of the orbital plane and around the line of nodes generates these short-period superhumps and retrograde precession of the disk, no numerical code to date has been shown to produce a disk tilt naturally. In this work, we report the first naturally tilted disk in non-magnetic Cataclysmic Variables…
Negative superhumps are believed to arise in cataclysmic variable systems when the accretion disk is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. Slow retrograde precession of the line-of-nodes results in a signal---the negative superhump---with a period slightly less than the orbital period. Previous studies have shown that tilted disks exhibit negative superhumps, but a consensus on how a disk initially tilts has not been reached. Analytical work by Lai suggests that a magnetic field on the primary can lead to a tilt instability in a disk when the dipole moment is offset in angle from the spin …
KIC 9406652 is a cataclysmic variable (CV), sub-classified as `IW And-type star', showing a repetition of standstills with oscillatory variations terminated by brightening. This system showed negative superhumps, semi-periodic variations having periods slightly shorter than the orbital period, and super-orbital signals, both of which are believed to originate from a precessing, tilted accretion disk. We have re-examined its Kepler light curve extending over 1500 d. In accordance with a cycle of the IW And-type light variation, the frequency of negative superhumps showed a reproducible variatio…
Negative superhumps in cataclysmic variable systems result when the accretion disc is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. The line of nodes of the tilted disc precesses slowly in the retrograde direction, resulting in a photometric signal with a period slightly less than the orbital period. We use the method of smoothed particle hydrodynamics to simulate a series of models of differing mass ratio and effective viscosity to determine the retrograde precession period and superhump period deficit $\varepsilon_-$ as a function of system mass ratio $q$. We tabulate our results and present fit…
We present simultaneous $g'$, $R_{\rm c}$, and $I_{\rm c}$ photometry of the notable dwarf nova ER UMa during the 2011 season. Our photometry revealed that the brightness maxima of negative superhumps coincide with the bluest peaks in $g' - I_{\rm c}$ colour variations. We also found that the amplitudes of negative superhumps are the largest in the $g'$ band. These observed properties are significantly different from those observed in early and positive superhumps. Our findings are consistent with a tilted disk model as the light source of negative superhumps.
I analyzed All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) Sky Patrol data of ES Dra and classified it to be a Z Cam star with VY Scl-type fading episodes. An analysis of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations showed that this object shows shallow eclipses and that the orbital period is 0.17749895(17) d. Negative superhumps with a period of 0.167830(2) d and the beat phenomenon between the period of negative superhumps and the orbital period were detected in the TESS data between 2020 January and March. The orbital profile systematically varied depending on the beat phase …
The timing capabilities and sensitivity of Kepler, NASA's observatory to find Earth-sized planets within the habitable zone of stars, are well matched to the timescales and amplitudes of accretion disk variability in cataclysmic variables. This instrumental combination provides an unprecedented opportunity to test and refine stellar accretion paradigms with high-precision, uniform data, containing none of the diurnal or season gaps that limit ground-based observations. We present a 3-month, 1 minute cadence Kepler light curve of V344 Lyr, a faint, little-studied dwarf nova within the Kepler fi…
A radial velocity study is presented of the cataclysmic variable V378 Pegasi (PG 2337+300). It is found to have an orbital period of 0.13858 +/- 0.00004 d (3.32592 +/- 0.00096 hours). Its spectrum and long-term light curve suggest that V378 Peg is a nova-like variable, with no outbursts. We use the approximate distance and position in the Galaxy of V378 Peg to estimate E(B-V) = 0.095, and use near-infrared magnitudes to calculate a distance of 680 +/- 90 pc and M_V = 4.68 +/- 0.70, consistent with V378 Peg being a nova-like. Time-resolved photometry taken between 2001 and 2009 reveals a period…
We report on a discovery of "negative" superhumps during the 2011 January superoutburst of ER UMa. During the superoutburst which started on 2011 January 16, we detected negative superhumps having a period of 0.062242(9) d, shorter than the orbital period by 2.2%. No evidence of positive superhumps was detected during this observation. This finding indicates that the disk exhibited retrograde precession during this superoutburst, contrary to all other known cases of superoutbursts. The duration of this superoutburst was shorter than those of ordinary superoutbursts and the intervals of normal …
Negative superhumps in cataclysmic variables driven by retrograde apsidal disk precession
University of Nevada, Las Vegas（内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校）；Nevada Center for Astrophysics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas（内华达天体物理中心，内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校）；Space Telescope Science Institute（太空望远镜科学研究所）
We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of the low mass X-ray binary GR Mus (XB 1254-690), and find strong evidence for the presence of a negative superhump with a period that is 2.4+/-0.3% shorter than the orbital. This provides further support that GR Mus indeed harbours a precessing accretion disk (with a period of 6.74+/-0.07 day) that has retrograde precession and is completely tilted out of the orbital plane along its line of nodes. This tilt causes a large fraction of the gas in the accretion stream to either over- or underflow the accretion disk instead of hitting the dis…
We report on the analysis of the Kepler short-cadence (SC) light curve of V344 Lyr obtained during 2009 June 20 through 2010 Mar 19 (Q2--Q4). The system is an SU UMa star showing dwarf nova outbursts and superoutbursts, and promises to be a touchstone for CV studies for the foreseeable future. The system displays both positive and negative superhumps with periods of 2.20 and 2.06-hr, respectively, and we identify an orbital period of 2.11-hr. The positive superhumps have a maximum amplitude of ~0.25-mag, the negative superhumps a maximum amplitude of ~0.8 mag, and the orbital period at quiesce…
In Montgomery (2009a), we show that accretion discs in binary systems could retrogradely precess by tidal torques like the Moon and the Sun on a tilted, spinning, non-spherical Earth. In addition, we show that the state of matter and the geometrical shape of the celestial object could significantly affect the precessional value. For example, a Cataclysmic Variable (CV) Dwarf Novae (DN) non-magnetic system that shows negative superhumps in its light curve can be described by a retrogradely precessing, differentially rotating, tilted disc. Because the disc is a fluid and because the gas stream o…
AQ Men is a nova-like variable which is presumed to have a tilted, precessing accretion disc. Grazing eclipses in this system have been speculated to be useful in exploring the geometry of its accretion disc. In this work we analysed TESS observations of AQ Men, which provide the best light curve of this object thus far. We show that the depths of the eclipses are changing with the orientation of the accretion disc, which means that they can serve as a direct test of the tilted accretion disc models. The precession period of the accretion disc is increasing during the TESS observations. Howeve…
We have studied the SC (short cadence) Kepler light curve of an SU UMa star, V1504 Cyg, which extends for a period of about 630 d. All superoutbursts in V1504 Cyg have turned out to be of the precursor-main type and the superhump first appears near the maximum of the precursor. The superhumps grow smoothly from the precursor to the main superoutburst showing that the superoutburst is initiated by the tidal instability (as evidenced by growing superhump) as envisioned in the thermal-tidal instability (TTI) model proposed by Osaki (1989). We have performed power spectral analysis of the light cu…
We report photometric detections of orbital and superorbital signals, and negative orbital sidebands, in the light curves of the nova-like cataclysmic variables AQ Mensae and IM Eridani. The frequencies of the orbital, superorbital, and sideband signals are 7.0686 (3), 0.263 (3), and 7.332 (3) cycles per day (c/d) in AQ Mensae, and 6.870 (1), 0.354 (7), and 7.226 (1) c/d in IM Eridani. We also find a spectroscopic orbital frequency in IM Eridani of 6.86649 (2) c/d. These observations can be reproduced by invoking an accretion disc that is tilted with respect to the orbital plane. This model wo…
In this work, we search for negative superhumps (nSHs) in poorly studied cataclysmic variables using TESS data. We find three eclipsing binaries with nSH signatures: HBHA 4204-09, Gaia DR3 5931071148325476992, and SDSS J090113.51+144704.6. The last one exhibits IW And-like behaviour in archival ZTF data, and appears to have shallow, grazing eclipses. In addition, we detect nSH signatures in two non-eclipsing systems: KQ Mon and Gaia DR3 4684361817175293440, by identifying the orbital period from the superorbital-dependent irradiation of the secondary. We discover nSH signatures in one more sys…
We carried out the photometric observations of the SU UMa-type dwarf nova ER UMa during 2011 and 2012, which showed the existence of persistent negative superhumps even during the superoutburst. We performed two-dimensional period analysis of its light curves by using a method called "least absolute shrinkage and selection operator" (Lasso) and "phase dispersion minimization" (PDM) analysis, and we found that the period of negative superhumps systematically changed between a superoutburst and the next superoutburst. The trend of the period change can beinterpreted as reflecting the change of t…
Eclipse Properties and Superhump Evolution in the SU UMa-Type Dwarf Nova Z Cha
Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院云南天文台）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；Department of Astronomy, School of Physics and Astronomy, Yunnan University（云南大学物理与天文学院天文学系）
Net tidal torque by the secondary on a misaligned accretion disk, like the net tidal torque by the Moon and the Sun on the equatorial bulge of the spinning and tilted Earth, is suggested by others to be a source to retrograde precession in non-magnetic, accreting Cataclysmic Variable (CV) Dwarf Novae systems that show negative superhumps in their light curves. We investigate this idea in this work. We generate a generic theoretical expression for retrograde precession in spinning disks that are misaligned with the orbital plane. Our generic theoretical expression matches that which describes t…
We present an analysis of photometric observations of the eclipsing novalike variable DW UMa made by the CBA consortium between 1999 and 2015. Analysis of 372 new and 260 previously published eclipse timings reveals a 13.6 year period or quasi-period in the times of minimum light. The seasonal light curves show a complex spectrum of periodic signals: both positive and negative superhumps, likely arising from a prograde apsidal precession and a retrograde nodal precession of the accretion disc. These signals appear most prominently and famously as sidebands of the orbital frequency but the prec…
V341 Ara was recently recognised as one of the closest (d ~ 150 pc) and brightest (V~ 10) nova-like cataclysmic variables. This unique system is surrounded by a bright emission nebula, likely to be the remnant of a recent nova eruption. Embedded within this nebula is a prominent bow-shock, where the system's accretion disc wind runs into its own nova shell. In order to establish its fundamental properties, we present the first comprehensive multi-wavelength study of the system. Long-term photometry reveals quasi-periodic, super-orbital variations with a characteristic time-scale of 10-16 days …
Dynamically driven collapse of a thermally stable accretion disk in a nova-like system
University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Guizhou University（贵州大学）；National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
研究通过TESS观测发现VY Scl型类新星MASTER OT J072703.91-631952.8的热稳定吸积盘发生动力学坍缩，提出该系统存在此前未被识别的动力学驱动循环，无法用质量转移变化范式解释。
