Cauley, PW;
Farihi, J;
Redfield, S;
Bachman, S;
Parsons, SG;
Gänsicke, BT;
(2018)
Evidence for Eccentric, Precessing Gaseous Debris in the Circumstellar Absorption toward WD 1145 + 017.
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
, 852
(2)
, Article L22. 10.3847/2041-8213/aaa3d9.
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Abstract
We present time-series spectra revealing changes in the circumstellar line profiles for the white dwarf WD 1145 + 017. Over the course of 2.2 years, the spectra show complete velocity reversals in the circumstellar absorption, moving from strongly redshifted in 2015 April to strongly blueshifted in 2017 June. The depth of the absorption also varies, increasing by a factor of two over the same period. The dramatic changes in the line profiles are consistent with eccentric circumstellar gas rings undergoing general relativistic precession. As the argument of periapsis of the rings changes relative to the line of sight, the transiting gas shifts from receding in 2016 to approaching in 2017. Based on the precession timescales in the favored model, we make predictions for the line profiles over the next few years. Spectroscopic monitoring of WD 1145 + 017 will test these projections and aid in developing more accurate white dwarf accretion disk models.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Evidence for Eccentric, Precessing Gaseous Debris in the Circumstellar Absorption toward WD 1145 + 017 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/2041-8213/aaa3d9 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aaa3d9 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is the published version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | circumstellar matter – techniques: spectroscopic – white dwarfs |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10042253 |
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