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Spectral eclipse mapping of the accretion disk in the nova-like variable UX Ursae MajorisWe analyze narrow-band eclipse light curves of the nova-like cataclysmic variable UX UMa, obtained from low-resolution spectra spanning lambda lambda 3600-9800 A . The light curves for narrow bands in the continuum as well as those for individual spectral lines are treated independently, and are used to construct images of the accretion disk's brightness distribution using the maximum-entropy eclipse-mapping technique. Particular attention is paid to the propagation of statistical uncertainties in the data and to how the analysis may introduce systematic errors in the final result. From the many narrrow band images we have reconstructed the spectra from isolated parts of the accretion disk. These spectra reveal that the inner disk radiates a continuum spectrum which peaks in the near UV and has the hydrogen Balmer lines in absorption (with the exception of H-alpha), whereas the outer disk is much fainter, has a much redder spectrum, and has Balmer emission lines. Our analysis reveals the presence of an uneclipsed component of the total light, whose spectrum is very red and has Balmer lines in emission. This unexpected feature of the eclipse mapping technique offers a new tool for an independent assessment of the secondary star's spectrum in eclipsing cataclysmic variables.
Document ID
19950044259
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Rutten, R. G. M.
(Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy Dwingeloo, Netherlands)
Dhillon, V. S.
(Royal Greenwich Observatory Santa Cruz, Spain)
Horne, K.
(Astronomical Inst. 'Anton Pannekoek' Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Kuulkers, E.
(Astronomical Inst. Ultrecht, Netherlands)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
March 10, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume: 283
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0004-6361
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
95A75858
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-2678
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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