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High-velocity winds from a dwarf nova during outburstAn ultraviolet spectrum of the dwarf nova TW Vir during an optical outburst shows shortward-shifted absorption features with edge velocities as high as 4800 km/s, about the escape velocity of a white dwarf. A comparison of this spectrum with the UV spectra of other cataclysmic variables suggests that mass loss is evident only for systems with relatively high luminosities (more than about 10 solar luminosities) and low inclination angles with respect to the observer's line of sight. The mass loss rate for cataclysmic variables is of order 10 to the -11th solar mass per yr; this is from 0.01 to 0.001 of the mass accretion rate onto the compact star in the binary. The mass loss may occur by a mechanism similar to that invoked for early-type stars, i.e., radiation absorbed in the lines accelerates the accreting gas to the high velocities observed.
Document ID
19820061073
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Cordova, F. A.
Mason, K. O.
Date Acquired
August 10, 2013
Publication Date
September 15, 1982
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
82A44608
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS6-5022B
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-44
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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