Discovery of two new polars evolved past the period bounce

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Cunningham, Tim, Caiazzo, Ilaria, Sienkiewicz, Gracjan, Wheatley, Peter J., Gänsicke, Boris T., El-Badry, Kareem, Arcodia, Riccardo, Charbonneau, Dave, Connor, Liam, De, Kishalay, Hakala, Pasi, Kenyon, Scott J., Maheshwari, Sumit Kumar, Rodriguez, Antonio C., van Roestel, Jan, Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Cunningham, Tim
Caiazzo, Ilaria
Sienkiewicz, Gracjan
Wheatley, Peter J.
Gänsicke, Boris T.
El-Badry, Kareem
Arcodia, Riccardo
Charbonneau, Dave
Connor, Liam
De, Kishalay
Hakala, Pasi
Kenyon, Scott J.
Maheshwari, Sumit Kumar
Rodriguez, Antonio C.
van Roestel, Jan
Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel
author_facet Cunningham, Tim
Caiazzo, Ilaria
Sienkiewicz, Gracjan
Wheatley, Peter J.
Gänsicke, Boris T.
El-Badry, Kareem
Arcodia, Riccardo
Charbonneau, Dave
Connor, Liam
De, Kishalay
Hakala, Pasi
Kenyon, Scott J.
Maheshwari, Sumit Kumar
Rodriguez, Antonio C.
van Roestel, Jan
Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel
contents We report the discovery of two new magnetic cataclysmic variables with brown dwarf companions and long orbital periods ($P_{\rm orb}=95\pm1$ and $104\pm2$ min). This discovery increases the sample of candidate magnetic period bouncers with confirmed sub-stellar donors from four to six. We also find their X-ray luminosity from archival XMM-Newton observations to be in the range $L_{\rm X}\approx10^{28}$$-$$10^{29} \mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ in the 0.25$-$10 keV band. This low luminosity is comparable with the other candidates, and at least an order of magnitude lower than the X-ray luminosities typically measured in cataclysmic variables. The X-ray fluxes imply mass transfer rates that are much lower than predicted by evolutionary models, even if some of the discrepancy is due to the accretion energy being emitted in other bands, such as via cyclotron emission at infrared wavelengths. Although it is possible that some or all of these systems formed directly as binaries containing a brown dwarf, it is likely that the donor used to be a low-mass star and that the systems followed the evolutionary track for cataclysmic variables, evolving past the period bounce. The donor in long period systems is expected to be a low-mass, cold brown dwarf. This hypothesis is supported by near-infrared photometric observations that constrain the donors in the two systems to be brown dwarfs cooler than $\approx$1100 K (spectral types T5 or later), most likely losing mass via Roche Lobe overflow or winds. The serendipitous discovery of two magnetic period bouncers in the small footprint of the XMM-Newton source catalog implies a large space density of these type of systems, possibly compatible with the prediction of 40$-$70 per cent of magnetic cataclysmic variables to be period bouncers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_12675
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Discovery of two new polars evolved past the period bounce
Cunningham, Tim
Caiazzo, Ilaria
Sienkiewicz, Gracjan
Wheatley, Peter J.
Gänsicke, Boris T.
El-Badry, Kareem
Arcodia, Riccardo
Charbonneau, Dave
Connor, Liam
De, Kishalay
Hakala, Pasi
Kenyon, Scott J.
Maheshwari, Sumit Kumar
Rodriguez, Antonio C.
van Roestel, Jan
Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We report the discovery of two new magnetic cataclysmic variables with brown dwarf companions and long orbital periods ($P_{\rm orb}=95\pm1$ and $104\pm2$ min). This discovery increases the sample of candidate magnetic period bouncers with confirmed sub-stellar donors from four to six. We also find their X-ray luminosity from archival XMM-Newton observations to be in the range $L_{\rm X}\approx10^{28}$$-$$10^{29} \mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ in the 0.25$-$10 keV band. This low luminosity is comparable with the other candidates, and at least an order of magnitude lower than the X-ray luminosities typically measured in cataclysmic variables. The X-ray fluxes imply mass transfer rates that are much lower than predicted by evolutionary models, even if some of the discrepancy is due to the accretion energy being emitted in other bands, such as via cyclotron emission at infrared wavelengths. Although it is possible that some or all of these systems formed directly as binaries containing a brown dwarf, it is likely that the donor used to be a low-mass star and that the systems followed the evolutionary track for cataclysmic variables, evolving past the period bounce. The donor in long period systems is expected to be a low-mass, cold brown dwarf. This hypothesis is supported by near-infrared photometric observations that constrain the donors in the two systems to be brown dwarfs cooler than $\approx$1100 K (spectral types T5 or later), most likely losing mass via Roche Lobe overflow or winds. The serendipitous discovery of two magnetic period bouncers in the small footprint of the XMM-Newton source catalog implies a large space density of these type of systems, possibly compatible with the prediction of 40$-$70 per cent of magnetic cataclysmic variables to be period bouncers.
title Discovery of two new polars evolved past the period bounce
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.12675