Variability in the cycle length of the supersoft source RX J0513.9-6951
arXiv:0802.1998 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20067010
Abstract
The supersoft X-ray binary RX J0513.9-6951 shows cyclic changes between optical-low / X-ray-on states and optical-high / X-ray-off states. It is supposed to be accreting close to the Eddington-critical limit and driven by "accretion wind evolution". We seek to derive the variations in the characteristic time scales of the long-term optical light curve and to determine the implications for the physical parameters of the system. We used existing and new optical monitoring observations covering a total time span of 14 years and compared the durations of the low and high states with the model calculations of Hachisu & Kato. The cycle lengths and especially the durations of the optical high states show a longterm modulation with variations that, according to the accretion wind evolution model, would imply variations in the mass transfer rate by a factor of 5 on timescales of years.
arXiv comment6 Pages, 5 Figures
References in corpus (6)
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- Examining the evolution of the Supersoft X-ray Source RX J0513.9-6951