V803 Centauri
 Three light curves for V803 Centauri, on three timescales, hours (plot A), days (plot B) and years (plot C). Adapted from Patterson et al. (2000),[1] Kato et al. (2004)[2] and Levitan et al. (2015)[3] | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Right ascension | 13h 23m 44.54s[4] |
| Declination | −41° 44′ 29.54″[4] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.7 - 17.7[5] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | pec |
| U−B color index | −0.9 - −1.0[6] |
| B−V color index | +0.1[6] |
| Variable type | AM CVn[7] |
| Astrometry | |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −3.907[4] mas/yr Dec.: +11.978[4] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 3.4885±0.0599 mas[4] |
| Distance | 930 ± 20 ly (287 ± 5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 5.93[7] |
| Details | |
| White dwarf | |
| Mass | 0.8 - 1.2[7] M☉ |
| Donor star | |
| Mass | 0.06 - 0.11[7] M☉ |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
V803 Centauri (V803 Cen) is a cataclysmic binary consisting of a dwarf helium star losing mass to a white dwarf. It is an example of the AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) type of cataclysmic variable stars.[1]
Aina Margareta Elvius announced the discovery of this star in 1975.[8] It was given its variable star designation, V803 Centauri, in 1978.[9] The light curve shows a "low state" at about magnitude 17, with rapid outbursts of several magnitudes lasting only a few days or brighter super-outbursts lasting a few weeks, and a "high state" at up to 13th magnitude. V803 Centauri is most often seen in the high state, where it may stay bright for a year or more.[10]
The donor star has been radically stripped of material and now only around 0.1 M☉ remains. With its outer layers removed, the helium core has expanded and cooled and is almost impossible to detect directly. The accreting white dwarf has a temperature around 14,000 K.[11] Most of the light from V803 Cen is produced by an accretion disk, especially when the system is in outburst. The accretion disk shows a blackbody temperature around 30,000 K.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Patterson, Joseph; Walker, Stan; Kemp, Jonathan; O'Donoghue, Darragh; Bos, Marc; Stubbings, Rod (2000). "V803 Centauri: A Helium-rich Dwarf Nova". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 112 (771). The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 625–631. Bibcode:2000PASP..112..625P. doi:10.1086/316561. JSTOR 316561.
- ^ Kato, Taichi; Stubbings, Rod; Monard, Berto; Butterworth, Neil D.; Bolt, Greg; Richards, Tom (March 25, 2004). "V803 Centauri: Helium Dwarf Nova Mimicking a WZ Sge-Type Superoutburst". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 56: S89 – S98. arXiv:astro-ph/0307308. Bibcode:2004PASJ...56S..89K. doi:10.1093/pasj/56.sp1.S89.
- ^ Levitan, David; Groot, Paul J.; Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Laher, Russ; Ofek, Eran O.; Sesar, Branimir; Surace, Jason (January 2015). "Long-term photometric behaviour of outbursting AM CVn systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 446 (1): 391–410. arXiv:1410.6987. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.446..391L. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu2105.
- ^ a b c d e Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
- ^ Samus', N. N.; Kazarovets, E. V.; Durlevich, O. V.; Kireeva, N. N.; Pastukhova, E. N. (2017). "General catalogue of variable stars: Version GCVS 5.1". Astronomy Reports. 61 (1): 80. Bibcode:2017ARep...61...80S. doi:10.1134/S1063772917010085.
- ^ a b Elvius, A. (1975). "Variable blue object with a peculiar spectrum". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 44: 117. Bibcode:1975A&A....44..117E.
- ^ a b c d Solheim, J.-E. (2010). "AM CVn Stars: Status and Challenges". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 122 (896): 1133–1163. Bibcode:2010PASP..122.1133S. doi:10.1086/656680.
- ^ Elvius, A. (November 1975). "Variable blur object with a peculiar spectrum". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 44: 117–121. Bibcode:1975A&A....44..117E.
- ^ Kholopov, P. N.; Kukarkina, N. P.; Perova, N. B. (April 1978). "63rd Name-List of Variable Stars" (PDF). Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 1414: 1–10. Bibcode:1978IBVS.1414....1K. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
- ^ Duffy, C.; Ramsay, G.; Steeghs, D.; Dhillon, V.; Kennedy, M. R.; Mata Sánchez, D.; Ackley, K.; Dyer, M.; Lyman, J.; Ulaczyk, K.; Galloway, D. K.; O'Brien, P.; Noysena, K.; Nuttall, L.; Pollacco, D. (2021). "Evidence that short-period AM CVN systems are diverse in outburst behaviour". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 502 (4): 4953. arXiv:2102.04428. Bibcode:2021MNRAS.502.4953D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab389.
- ^ Bildsten, Lars; Townsley, Dean M.; Deloye, Christopher J.; Nelemans, Gijs (2006). "The Thermal State of the Accreting White Dwarf in AM Canum Venaticorum Binaries". The Astrophysical Journal. 640 (1): 466. arXiv:astro-ph/0510652. Bibcode:2006ApJ...640..466B. doi:10.1086/500080.
- ^ Sion, Edward M.; Linnell, Albert P.; Godon, Patrick; Ballouz, Ronald-Louis (2011). "The Hot Components of AM CVN Helium Cataclysmics". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (1): 63. arXiv:1108.1388. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...63S. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/1/63.
