Time-Resolved Optical Photometry of the Ultracompact Binary 4U 0614+091

Shahbaz, T.; Watson, C. A.; Zurita, C.; Villaver, E.; Hernandez-Peralta, H.
Bibliographical reference

The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 120, Issue 870, pp. 848-851.

Advertised on:
8
2008
Number of authors
5
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
34
Refereed citations
32
Description
We present a detailed optical study of the ultracompact X-ray binary 4U 0614+091. We have used 63 hr of time-resolved optical photometry taken with three different telescopes (IAC80, NOT, and SPM) to search for optical modulations. The power spectra of each data set reveals sinusoidal modulations with different periods, which are not always present. The strongest modulation has a period of 51.3 minutes, a semiamplitude of 4.6 mmag, and is present in the IAC80 data. The SPM and NOT data show periods of 42 minutes and 64 minutes, respectively, but with much weaker amplitudes, 2.6 mmag and 1.3 mmag, respectively. These modulations arise from either X-ray irradiation of the inner face of the secondary star and/or a superhump modulation from the accretion disk, or quasi-periodic modulations in the accretion disk. It is unclear whether these periods/quasi-periodic modulations are related to the orbital period; however, the strongest period of 51.3 minutes is close to earlier tentative orbital periods. Further observations taken over a long baseline are encouraged.
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