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Episodic absorption in the outflow of V603 Aquilae

Prinja, RK; Knigge, C; Ringwald, FA; Wade, RA; (2000) Episodic absorption in the outflow of V603 Aquilae. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 318 (2) 368 - 374. 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03702.x. Green open access

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Abstract

We report on the time-dependent behaviour of ultraviolet spectral lines in Hubble Space Telescope Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph data of the classical nova V603 Aql. In particular, episodic blueshifted absorption (extending to ∼−2500 km s−1) is present, with a variability time-scale down to ∼1 min. The data provide a rare opportunity to study the rapid evolution of absorption structures that may be associated with accretion-disc winds in cataclysmic variables. At least three absorption events are recorded (at blueward velocities only) over ∼5 h, each lasting ∼10–15 min. The derived velocity, acceleration and optical depth properties provide an empirical picture of stochastically variable structures in the outflow, with no evidence for short-term (less than ∼1 h) cyclic or modulated behaviour in the overall absorption properties. In contrast, the emission components of the ultraviolet resonance lines are very stable in velocity and strength in this low-inclination system. On at least two occasions there is an intriguing short-term ‘flare’ in the ultraviolet continuum flux (of up to ∼40 per cent). Though there is no clear one-to-one relation in these data between the continuum fluctuations and the occurrence of the absorption events, the time-scales for the two variable phenomena are essentially the same. The irregular absorption episodes in the ultraviolet data of V603 Aql presently defy a clear physical interpretation. Their overall characteristics are discussed in the context of instabilities in radiation-pressure-driven disc winds.

Type: Article
Title: Episodic absorption in the outflow of V603 Aquilae
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03702.x
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03702.x
Language: English
Additional information: © 2000 RAS Definitive versions of articles pre-2013 are available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2966, now published by http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org
Keywords: absorption, Astronomy, V603 Aquilae
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
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/25366
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