AAS 207th Meeting, 8-12 January 2006
Session 70 Cataclysmic Variables and Novae
Poster, Tuesday, 9:20am-6:30pm, January 10, 2006, Exhibit Hall

Previous   |   Session 70   |   Next  |   Author Index   |   Block Schedule


[70.04] X-ray Emission Lines in Cataclysmic Variables

E. M. Schlegel (Univ. Texas-San Antonio), K.P. Singh, V. Rana, V. Girish (Tata Inst of Fund. Research), P. E. Barrett (Johns Hopkins Univ.)

We describe a complete spectroscopic archival study of the emission lines from cataclysmic variables as observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory using the High Energy Transmission Grating. G-, R-, and the H/He-like ratios are used to infer temperatures and densities for the emitting plasmas. The G-ratio for Si XIII indicates a minimum electron temperature of 106 K for the observed CVs. The Fe XVII 17.10/17.05 {Å} and 17.10/16.77 {Å} line ratios for all of the CVs imply densities greater than 1014 cm-3 or photoexcitation. The R ratios imply values from 1011 to 1014-15 cm-3. We do not convincingly detect any radiation recombination features. Implications for the physics of CV accretion processes are briefly discussed.

The research of EMS was partially supported by contract NAS-39073 from NASA to SAO for the Chandra X-ray Observatory.


Previous   |   Session 70   |   Next

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.