V1500 Cyg is an old classical nova that harbors a highly magnetic white dwarfprimary. V1500 Cyg erupted in 1975, but recent infrared observations reveal asource with large amplitude variations that had been ascribed to irradiation ofthe secondary star by the hot primary. We find, however, that a substantialfraction of the orbitally modulated light is due to cyclotron emission,suggesting magnetic accretion is the dominant irradiation source. Thus, V1500Cyg has an accretion rate that is much higher than found in other old novae.Such anomalously high accretion rates could allow the mass of the white dwarfsin such systems to grow to the Chandrasekhar limit, and thus highly magnetic oldnovae are excellent candidates for producing Type Ia SNe.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2014-11-11T13:35:11Z/2014-11-12T04:48:31Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Thomas Harrison, 2015, 'Quantifying the Accretion Rate of V1500 Cygni', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-41ctpgx
