Bibcode
Torres, Manuel; Steeghs, Danny; Gaensicke, Boris; Marsh, Tom; Rodriguez-Gil, Pablo; Schmidtobreick, Linda; Long, Knox; Schreiber, Matthias
Bibliographical reference
NOAO Proposal ID #2007B-0051
Advertised on:
8
2007
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
SW Sextantis stars are a relatively large group of cataclysmic variables
(CVs) whose properties contradict all predictions made by the current CV
evolution theories. Very little is known about the properties of their
accreting white dwarfs and their donor stars, as the stellar components
are usually outshone by an extremely bright accretion flow.
Consequently, a proper assesment of their evolutionary state is
illusionary. We are monitoring the brightness of a number of SW Sex
stars and request here Gemini/GMOS-N ToO time to obtain orbital
phase-resolved spectroscopy if one of them enters a low state, since
this is the only opportunity for studying the stellar components
individually. These data will be used to accurately measure the mass
ratio of the system which, combined with the orbital inclination derived
from modelling of either the disc eclipses in the high state or the
ellipsoidal modulation in the low state, will eventually provide the
first detailed system parameters for any SW Sex star.