Open AccessFirst X‐ray observations of the polar CE Gru
Author(s) -
Ramsay Gavin,
Cropper Mark
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05666.x
Subject(s) - physics , white dwarf , astrophysics , intermediate polar , accretion (finance) , light curve , polar , astronomy , accretion disc , ultraviolet , stars , optics
We report the detection of the polar CE Gru in X‐rays for the first time. We find evidence for a dip seen in the hard X‐ray light curve which we attribute to the accretion stream obscuring the accretion region in the lower hemisphere of the white dwarf. The X‐ray spectrum can be fitted using only a shock model: there is no distinct soft X‐ray component. We suggest that this is because the reprocessed component is so cool that it is shifted into the ultraviolet. We determine a mass for the white dwarf of ∼1.0 M ⊙ .