AE Aquarii represents a new subclass of Cataclysmic Variables

We analyze properties of the unique nova-like star AE Aquarii identified with a close binary system containing a red dwarf and a very fast rotating magnetized white dwarf. It cannot be assigned to any of the three commonly adopted sub-classes of Cataclysmic Variables: Polars, Intermediate Polars, an...

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Veröffentlicht in:Astronomy reports 2012-08, Vol.56 (8), p.595-608
Hauptverfasser: Ikhsanov, N. R., Beskrovnaya, N. G.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:We analyze properties of the unique nova-like star AE Aquarii identified with a close binary system containing a red dwarf and a very fast rotating magnetized white dwarf. It cannot be assigned to any of the three commonly adopted sub-classes of Cataclysmic Variables: Polars, Intermediate Polars, and Accreting non-magnetized White Dwarfs. Our study has shown that the white dwarf in AE Aqr is in the ejector state and its dipole magnetic moment is µ≃1.5 × 10 34 G cm 3 . It switched into this state due to intensive mass exchange between the system components during a previous epoch. A high rate of disk accretion onto the white dwarf surface resulted in temporary screening of its magnetic field and spin-up of the white dwarf to its present spin period. Transition of the white dwarf to the ejector state had occurred at a final stage of the spin-up epoch as its magnetic field emerged from the accreted plasma due to diffusion. In the frame of this scenario AE Aqr represents a missing link in the chain of Polars evolution and the white dwarf resembles a recycled pulsar.
ISSN:1063-7729
1562-6881
DOI:10.1134/S1063772912070025