Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating
Cataclysmic variables can experience short optical brightenings, which are commonly attributed to phenomena such as dwarf novae outbursts, micronovae, donor flares, or magnetic gating bursts. Since these events exhibit similar observational characteristics, their identification has often been ambigu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad243c |
| _version_ | 1827349701046829056 |
|---|---|
| author | Krystian Iłkiewicz Simone Scaringi Martina Veresvarska Domitilla De Martino Colin Littlefield Christian Knigge John A. Paice Anwesha Sahu |
| author_facet | Krystian Iłkiewicz Simone Scaringi Martina Veresvarska Domitilla De Martino Colin Littlefield Christian Knigge John A. Paice Anwesha Sahu |
| author_sort | Krystian Iłkiewicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cataclysmic variables can experience short optical brightenings, which are commonly attributed to phenomena such as dwarf novae outbursts, micronovae, donor flares, or magnetic gating bursts. Since these events exhibit similar observational characteristics, their identification has often been ambiguous. In particular, magnetic gating bursts and micronovae have been suggested as alternative interpretations of the same phenomena. Here we show that the timescales and energies separate the optical brightenings into separate clusters consistent with their different classifications. This suggests that micronovae and magnetic gating bursts are in fact separate phenomena. Based on our findings, we develop diagnostic diagrams that can distinguish between these bursts/flares based on their properties. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach on observations of a newly identified intermediate polar, CTCV J0333-4451, which we classify as a magnetic gating system. CTCV J0333-4451 is the third highest spin-to-orbital period ratio intermediate polar with magnetic gating, suggesting that these bursts are common among these rare systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:45:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0eebcdb4d6ce4e70a8a2160dbce8f787 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:45:46Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-0eebcdb4d6ce4e70a8a2160dbce8f7872024-02-15T09:52:56ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019622L3410.3847/2041-8213/ad243cClassifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic GatingKrystian Iłkiewicz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4005-5095Simone Scaringi1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5387-7189Martina Veresvarska2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0146-3096Domitilla De Martino3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5069-4202Colin Littlefield4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7746-5795Christian Knigge5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1116-2553John A. Paice6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1149-1741Anwesha Sahu7https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6825-3230Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw , Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland; Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , DH1 3LE, UKCentre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , DH1 3LE, UKCentre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , DH1 3LE, UKINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte , salita Moiariello 16, I-80131, Napoli, ItalyDepartment of Physics, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN 46556, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy. University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKCentre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , DH1 3LE, UKDepartment of Physics, University of Warwick , Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKCataclysmic variables can experience short optical brightenings, which are commonly attributed to phenomena such as dwarf novae outbursts, micronovae, donor flares, or magnetic gating bursts. Since these events exhibit similar observational characteristics, their identification has often been ambiguous. In particular, magnetic gating bursts and micronovae have been suggested as alternative interpretations of the same phenomena. Here we show that the timescales and energies separate the optical brightenings into separate clusters consistent with their different classifications. This suggests that micronovae and magnetic gating bursts are in fact separate phenomena. Based on our findings, we develop diagnostic diagrams that can distinguish between these bursts/flares based on their properties. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach on observations of a newly identified intermediate polar, CTCV J0333-4451, which we classify as a magnetic gating system. CTCV J0333-4451 is the third highest spin-to-orbital period ratio intermediate polar with magnetic gating, suggesting that these bursts are common among these rare systems.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad243cCataclysmic variable starsOptical burstsDwarf novaeFlare starsTime domain astronomyDQ Herculis stars |
| spellingShingle | Krystian Iłkiewicz Simone Scaringi Martina Veresvarska Domitilla De Martino Colin Littlefield Christian Knigge John A. Paice Anwesha Sahu Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating The Astrophysical Journal Letters Cataclysmic variable stars Optical bursts Dwarf novae Flare stars Time domain astronomy DQ Herculis stars |
| title | Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating |
| title_full | Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating |
| title_fullStr | Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating |
| title_full_unstemmed | Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating |
| title_short | Classifying Optical (Out)bursts in Cataclysmic Variables: The Distinct Observational Characteristics of Dwarf Novae, Micronovae, Stellar Flares, and Magnetic Gating |
| title_sort | classifying optical out bursts in cataclysmic variables the distinct observational characteristics of dwarf novae micronovae stellar flares and magnetic gating |
| topic | Cataclysmic variable stars Optical bursts Dwarf novae Flare stars Time domain astronomy DQ Herculis stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad243c |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT krystianiłkiewicz classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT simonescaringi classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT martinaveresvarska classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT domitillademartino classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT colinlittlefield classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT christianknigge classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT johnapaice classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating AT anweshasahu classifyingopticaloutburstsincataclysmicvariablesthedistinctobservationalcharacteristicsofdwarfnovaemicronovaestellarflaresandmagneticgating |