Roche tomography of cataclysmic variables -- II. Images of the secondary stars in AM Her, QQ Vul, IP Peg and HU Aqr

Abstract

We present a set of Roche tomography reconstructions of the secondary stars in the cataclysmic variables AM Her, QQ Vul, IP Peg and HU Aqr. The image reconstructions show distinct asymmetries in the irradiation pattern for all four systems which can be attributed to shielding of the secondary star by the accretion stream/column in AM Her, QQ Vul and HU Aqr, and increased irradiation by the bright spot in IP Peg. We use the entropy landscape technique to derive accurate system parameters (M1, M2, i and gamma) for the four binaries. In principle, this technique should provide the most reliable mass determinations available, since the intensity distribution across the secondary star is known. We also find that the intensity distribution can systematically affect the value of gamma derived from circular orbit fits to radial velocity variations.

16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (8)

• Multi-epoch Doppler tomography and polarimetry of QQ Vul
• Roche tomography of cataclysmic variables: I. artefacts and techniques
• Modelling of the magnetic accretion flow in HU Aquarii
• A new method of determining the inclination angle in interacting binaries
• The systemic velocities of four long-period cataclysmic variable stars
• A TiO study of the dwarf nova IP Pegasi
• The Far-Ultraviolet Spectrum and Short Timescale Variability of AM Herculis from Observations with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope
• EUVE Observations of the Magnetic Cataclysmic Variable QQ Vulpeculae

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