FO Aquarii

FO Aquarii

The visual band light curve of FO Aquarii. The main plot shows the dimming which occurred in 2016, and the inset plot shows the short-term variation that occurs during an orbital period. Adapted from Littlefield et al. (2016)[1]
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Aquarius
Right ascension 22h 17m 55.38s[2]
Declination −08° 21′ 04.6″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.7[3]
Characteristics
Apparent magnitude (B) 13.70[2]
Apparent magnitude (R) 13.60[2]
Apparent magnitude (J) 12.87[2]
Apparent magnitude (H) 12.75[2]
Apparent magnitude (K) 12.51[2]
Variable type DQ[4]
Orbit
Period (P)4.85 hr[5]
Other designations
2E 4588, 1RXS J221753.9-082115, CS 22886-0021, H 2215-086
Database references
SIMBADdata
Data sources:
Hipparcos Catalogue,
CCDM (2002),
Bright Star Catalogue (5th rev. ed.)

FO Aquarii is an intermediate polar[4] star system in the constellation Aquarius. The white dwarf and companion star orbit each other with a period of approximately 4.85 hours.[5] The system is famous for a very strong optical pulsation which occurs every 20.9 minutes, corresponding with the rotational period of the accreting white dwarf.[6] Prior to 2016, the system's long-term optical brightness varied between apparent magnitude 12.7 and 14.2,[7] but in early 2016, it faded to magnitude 15.8 and thereafter began a slow recovery to its normal brightness, behavior which is indicative of a temporary dropoff in the mass-transfer rate between the two stars.[8]

The variable nature of FO Aquarii was discovered in 1983 by Joseph Patterson and João Evangelista Steiner.[6] It was given its variable star designation in 1985.[9]

References

  1. ^ Littlefield, Colin; Garnavich, Peter; Kennedy, Mark R.; Aadland, Erin; Terndrup, Donald M.; Calhoun, Grace V.; Callanan, Paul; Abe, Lyu; Bendjoya, Philippe; Rivet, Jean-Pierre; Vernet, David; Devogèle, Maxime; Shappee, Benjamin; Holoien, Thomas; Heras, Teófilo Arranz; Bonnardeau, Michel; Cook, Michael; Coulter, Daniel; Debackère, André; Dvorak, Shawn; Foster, James R.; Goff, William; Hambsch, Franz-Josef; Harris, Barbara; Myers, Gordon; Nelson, Peter; Popov, Velimir; Solomon, Rob; Stein, William L.; Stone, Geoff; Vietje, Brad (December 2016). "Return of the King: Time-Series Photometry of FO Aquarii's Initial Recovery from its Unprecedented 2016 Low State". The Astrophysical Journal. 833 (1): 93. arXiv:1609.01026. Bibcode:2016ApJ...833...93L. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/833/1/93. S2CID 54662277.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Cutri, Roc M.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Beichman, Charles A.; Carpenter, John M.; Chester, Thomas; Cambresy, Laurent; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Huchra, John P.; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Light, Robert M.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Stiening, Rae; Sykes, Matthew J.; Weinberg, Martin D.; Wheaton, William A.; Wheelock, Sherry L.; Zacarias, N. (2003). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri+ 2003)". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues. 2246: II/246. Bibcode:2003yCat.2246....0C.
  3. ^ Samus’, N. N.; Goranskii, V. P.; Durlevich, O. V.; Zharova, A. V.; Kazarovets, E. V.; Kireeva, N. N.; Pastukhova, E. N.; Williams, D. B.; Hazen, M. L. (2003). "An electronic version of the second volume of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars with improved coordinates". Astronomy Letters. 29 (7): 468–479. Bibcode:2003AstL...29..468S. doi:10.1134/1.1589864. S2CID 16299532.
  4. ^ a b Pekön, Y.; Balman, Ş. (2012). "Orbital-phase-resolved Spectroscopy of the Intermediate Polar FO Aqr Using XMM-Newton Observatory Data". The Astronomical Journal. 144 (2): 53. arXiv:1206.2215. Bibcode:2012AJ....144...53P. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/144/2/53. S2CID 119215497.
  5. ^ a b Osborne, J.; Mukai, K. (1989). "New Orbital and Spin Ephemerides of the Intermediate Polar Fo-Aquarii = H:2215-086". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 238 (3): 1233–1246. Bibcode:1989MNRAS.238.1233O. doi:10.1093/mnras/238.4.1233.
  6. ^ a b Patterson, J.; Steiner, J. E. (1983-01-01). "H2215-086 -King of the DQ Herculis stars". The Astrophysical Journal. 264: L61. Bibcode:1983ApJ...264L..61P. doi:10.1086/183944. ISSN 0004-637X.
  7. ^ VSX; Otero, S. A. (24 May 2011). "FO Aquarii". AAVSO Website. American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  8. ^ Littlefield, Colin; Garnavich, Peter; Kennedy, Mark R.; Aadland, Erin; Terndrup, Donald M.; Calhoun, Grace V.; Callanan, Paul; Abe, Lyu; Bendjoya, Philippe (2016-01-01). "Return of the King: Time-series Photometry of FO Aquarii's Initial Recovery from its Unprecedented 2016 Low State". The Astrophysical Journal. 833 (1): 93. arXiv:1609.01026. Bibcode:2016ApJ...833...93L. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/833/1/93. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 54662277.
  9. ^ Kholopov, P. N.; Samus, N. N.; Kazarovets, E. V.; Perova, N. B. (March 1985). "The 67th Name-List of Variable Stars" (PDF). Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 2681. Bibcode:1985IBVS.2681....1K. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
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