A dataset provided by the European Space Agency

Proposal ID 092075
Title Measuring the mass of the white dwarf in the symbiotic binary RT Cru
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https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0920750101

DOI https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-vffhtji
Principal Investigator, PI Prof Frederick Walter
Abstract The extraordinary symbiotic binary RT Cru, which hosts a massive (>1.25 solarmasses) white dwarf (WD) and thus is a serious candidate to be a SNIaprogenitor, is currently in a new optical/hard X-ray bright state; the previousone was detected in 2012 in optical photometry and with Swift/BAT. At that timethe accretion rate onto the WD increased, but did not reach the value where theaccretion disk boundary layer transitions to the optically thick regime. Wepropose to observe RTvirgulCru with XMM and NuSTAR during the current maximum --anevent that is unlikely to repeat within the next ten years -- in order to fullycharacterize the 0.3-80 keV spectrum during the maximum, allowing us to measurethe shock temperature and thus the WD mass and the accretion rate through the boundary layer.
Publications No publications found for current proposal!
Instrument EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage 2023-02-20T08:49:42Z/2023-02-21T02:19:42Z
Version 20.09_20221024_1724
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.
Creator Contact https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk
Date Published 2024-03-14T00:00:00Z
Keywords XMM-Newton, OM, RGS, EPIC, X-ray, Multi-Mirror, SAS
Publisher And Registrant European Space Agency
Credit Guidelines European Space Agency, Prof Frederick Walter, 2024, 'Measuring the mass of the white dwarf in the symbiotic binary RT Cru', 20.09_20221024_1724, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-vffhtji