A STUDY OF THE PHOTOMETRIC VARIABILITY OF THE PECULIAR MAGNETIC WHITE DWARF WD 1953-011

Journal Article · Fri Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/734/1/17· OSTI ID:21576689

Valyavin, G; Clark, D M; Machado, Lester Fox; Alvarez, M; Lopez, J M; Hiriart, D; Zharikov, S V ^[1]; Antonyuk, K; Plachinda, S ^[2]; Wade, G A ^[3]; Han, Inwoo; Jeon, Young-Beom ^[4]; Bagnulo, S ^[5]; Zurita, C ^[6]; Mujica, R ^[7]; Shulyak, D ^[8]; Burlakova, T ^[9]

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1. Observatorio Astronomico Nacional SPM, Instituto de AstronomIa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ensenada, BC (Mexico)
2. Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchny, Crimea (Ukraine)
3. Physics Department, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario (Canada)
4. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 61-1, Whaam-Dong, Youseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)
5. Armagh Observatory, Armagh (United Kingdom)
6. Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, 38200, La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
7. Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y ElectronIca, Apartado Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Tonantzintla, Pueblo (Mexico)
8. Astrophysics, Georg-August-University, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, D-37077 Goettingen (Germany)
9. Special Astrophysical Observatory, Zelenchukskaya (Russian Federation)

We present and interpret simultaneous new photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar magnetic white dwarf WD 1953-011. The flux in the V-band filter and intensity of the Balmer spectral lines demonstrate variability with the rotation period of about 1.45 days. According to previous studies, this variability can be explained by the presence of a dark spot having a magnetic nature, analogous to a sunspot. Motivated by this idea, we examine possible physical relationships between the suggested dark spot and the strong-field magnetic structure (magnetic 'spot' or 'tube') recently identified on the surface of this star. Comparing the rotationally modulated flux with the variable spectral observables related to the magnetic 'spot', we establish their correlation and therefore their physical relationship. Modeling the variable photometric flux assuming that it is associated with temperature variations in the stellar photosphere, we argue that the strong-field area and dark, low-temperature spot are comparable in size and located at the same latitudes, essentially overlapping each other with a possible slight longitudinal shift. In this paper, we also present a new, improved value of the star's rotational period and constrain the characteristics of the thermal inhomogeneity over the degenerate's surface.

• OSTI ID: 21576689
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 734, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/734/1/17; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BALMER LINES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
ROTATION
SIMULATION
WHITE DWARF STARS
DWARF STARS
MOTION
STARS