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The return of the spin period in DW Cnc and evidence of new high state outbursts

  • C. Duffy
  • , G. Ramsay
  • , D. Steeghs
  • , M. R. Kennedy
  • , R. G. West
  • , P. J. Wheatley
  • , V. S. Dhillon
  • , K. Ackley
  • , M. J. Dyer
  • , D. K. Galloway
  • , S. Gill
  • , J. S. Acton
  • , M. R. Burleigh
  • , S. L. Casewell
  • , M. R. Goad
  • , B. A. Henderson
  • , R. H. Tilbrook
  • , P. A. Strøm
  • , D. R. Anderson
  • Armagh Observatory
  • University of Warwick
  • ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Sheffield
  • Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
  • Monash University
  • Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE)
  • University of Leicester

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

DW Cnc is an intermediate polar which has previously been observed in both high and low states. Observations of the high state of DW Cnc have previously revealed a spin period at ∼38.6 min, however, observations from the 2018 to 2019 low state showed no evidence of the spin period. We present results from our analysis of 12 s cadence photometric data collected by Next Generation Transit Survey of DW Cnc during the high state which began in 2019. Following the previously reported suppression of the spin period signal, we identify the return of this signal during the high state, consistent with previous observations of it. We identify this as the restarting of accretion during the high state. We further identified three short outbursts lasting ∼1 d in DW Cnc with a mean recurrence time of ∼60 d and an amplitude of ∼1 mag. These are the first outbursts identified in DW Cnc since 2008. Due to the short nature of these events, we identify them not as a result of accretion instabilities but instead either from instabilities originating from the interaction of the magnetorotational instability in the accretion disc and the magnetic field generated by the white dwarf or the result of magnetic gating.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1002-1009
Number of pages8
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume510
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • accretion, accretion discs
  • binaries: close
  • instabilities
  • novae, cataclysmic variables
  • stars: individual: DW Cnc

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