Bibcode
McAllister, M. J.; Littlefair, S. P.; Dhillon, V. S.; Marsh, T. R.; Ashley, R. P.; Bours, M. C. P.; Breedt, E.; Hardy, L. K.; Hermes, J. J.; Kengkriangkrai, S.; Kerry, P.; Rattanasoon, S.; Sahman, D. I.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 464, Issue 2, p.1353-1364
Advertised on:
1
2017
Citations
21
Refereed citations
18
Description
The majority of cataclysmic variable (CV) stars contain a stochastic
noise component in their light curves, commonly referred to as
flickering. This can significantly affect the morphology of CV eclipses
and increases the difficulty in obtaining accurate system parameters
with reliable errors through eclipse modelling. Here we introduce a new
approach to eclipse modelling, which models CV flickering with the help
of Gaussian processes (GPs). A parametrized eclipse model - with an
additional GP component - is simultaneously fitted to eight eclipses of
the dwarf nova ASASSN-14ag and system parameters determined. We obtain a
mass ratio q = 0.149 ± 0.016 and inclination i =
83.4°^{+0.9°}_{-0.6°}. The white dwarf and donor masses were
found to be Mw = 0.63 ± 0.04 M⊙ and
Md = 0.093 ^{+0.015}_{-0.012} M⊙,
respectively. A white dwarf temperature Tw = 14 000
^{+2200}_{-2000} K and distance d = 146 ^{+24}_{-20} pc were determined
through multicolour photometry. We find GPs to be an effective way of
modelling flickering in CV light curves and plan to use this new eclipse
modelling approach going forward.
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