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

Duffy, C.; Ramsay, G.; Steeghs, D.; Kennedy, M. R.; West, R. G.; Wheatley, P. J.; Dhillon, V. S.; Ackley, K.; Dyer, M. J.; Galloway, D. K.; Gill, S.; Acton, J. S.; Burleigh, M. R.; Casewell, S. L.; Goad, M. R.; Henderson, B. A.; Tilbrook, R. H.; Strøm, P. A.; Anderson, D. R.
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Advertised on:
2
2022
Number of authors
19
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
5
Refereed citations
5
Description
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.
Related projects
Black hole in outburst
Black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs and their local environment
Accreting black-holes and neutron stars in X-ray binaries provide an ideal laboratory for exploring the physics of compact objects, yielding not only confirmation of the existence of stellar mass black holes via dynamical mass measurements, but also the best opportunity for probing high-gravity environments and the physics of accretion; the most
Montserrat
Armas Padilla