Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data
In this paper, the possibility of periodic pulsar-like gamma-ray emission from the white dwarfs in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii is investigated. We show that the white dwarf magnetospheres in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii can possibly induce potentials to accelerate charged particles to energies in excess...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Galaxies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/11/1/14 |
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| author | Pieter J. Meintjes Spencer T. Madzime Quinton Kaplan Hendrik J. van Heerden |
| author_facet | Pieter J. Meintjes Spencer T. Madzime Quinton Kaplan Hendrik J. van Heerden |
| author_sort | Pieter J. Meintjes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, the possibility of periodic pulsar-like gamma-ray emission from the white dwarfs in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii is investigated. We show that the white dwarf magnetospheres in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii can possibly induce potentials to accelerate charged particles to energies in excess of one tera electronvolt (TeV) with associated gamma-ray emission through processes such as curvature radiation, inverse Compton, and hadronic processes such as neutral pion decay. We report here pulsed gamma-ray signatures at or close to the spin period of white dwarfs in both AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in the Fermi-LAT dataset. This may indicate that both these white dwarfs possibly contain a particle accelerator that can produce relativistic electrons and ions and associated high energy radiation. The possibility of pair production is also investigated, which could provide a source for relativistic <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>±</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> pairs in the magnetosphere. This could possibly be a driver for other forms of lepton-induced multi-wavelength pulsar-like emission from these two systems as well, for example, to explain the recently detected pulsed radio emission from AE Aquarii and R Scorpii in MeerKAT observations at the spin period of the white dwarf. The possibility of future detection of AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is also discussed. The future Vera Rubin Observatory will make a revolutionary contribution to time-domain astrophysics, which may lead to the discovery of thousands of new transient sources, possibly also many more close binaries with highly spun-up magnetized white dwarfs such as AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii for future investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:48:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c2ec36fbf3f44314b896fb0678bd992b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4434 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:48:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Galaxies |
| spelling | doaj.art-c2ec36fbf3f44314b896fb0678bd992b2023-11-16T20:38:15ZengMDPI AGGalaxies2075-44342023-01-011111410.3390/galaxies11010014Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT DataPieter J. Meintjes0Spencer T. Madzime1Quinton Kaplan2Hendrik J. van Heerden3Department of Physics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South AfricaDepartment of Physics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South AfricaDepartment of Physics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South AfricaDepartment of Physics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South AfricaIn this paper, the possibility of periodic pulsar-like gamma-ray emission from the white dwarfs in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii is investigated. We show that the white dwarf magnetospheres in AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii can possibly induce potentials to accelerate charged particles to energies in excess of one tera electronvolt (TeV) with associated gamma-ray emission through processes such as curvature radiation, inverse Compton, and hadronic processes such as neutral pion decay. We report here pulsed gamma-ray signatures at or close to the spin period of white dwarfs in both AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in the Fermi-LAT dataset. This may indicate that both these white dwarfs possibly contain a particle accelerator that can produce relativistic electrons and ions and associated high energy radiation. The possibility of pair production is also investigated, which could provide a source for relativistic <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>±</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> pairs in the magnetosphere. This could possibly be a driver for other forms of lepton-induced multi-wavelength pulsar-like emission from these two systems as well, for example, to explain the recently detected pulsed radio emission from AE Aquarii and R Scorpii in MeerKAT observations at the spin period of the white dwarf. The possibility of future detection of AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is also discussed. The future Vera Rubin Observatory will make a revolutionary contribution to time-domain astrophysics, which may lead to the discovery of thousands of new transient sources, possibly also many more close binaries with highly spun-up magnetized white dwarfs such as AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii for future investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/11/1/14white dwarfpulsarmagnetic fieldparticle accelerationgamma-ray emissionAE Aquarii |
| spellingShingle | Pieter J. Meintjes Spencer T. Madzime Quinton Kaplan Hendrik J. van Heerden Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data Galaxies white dwarf pulsar magnetic field particle acceleration gamma-ray emission AE Aquarii |
| title | Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data |
| title_full | Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data |
| title_fullStr | Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data |
| title_short | Spun-Up Rotation-Powered Magnetized White Dwarfs in Close Binaries as Possible Gamma-ray Sources: Signatures of Pulsed Modulation from AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii in Fermi-LAT Data |
| title_sort | spun up rotation powered magnetized white dwarfs in close binaries as possible gamma ray sources signatures of pulsed modulation from ae aquarii and ar scorpii in fermi lat data |
| topic | white dwarf pulsar magnetic field particle acceleration gamma-ray emission AE Aquarii |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/11/1/14 |
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