Published October 1, 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

ACCURATE MASSES FOR THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY IN THE ECLIPSING WHITE DWARF BINARY NLTT 11748

  • 1. Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
  • 2. Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
  • 3. Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States)

Description

We measure the radial velocity curve of the eclipsing detached white dwarf binary NLTT 11748. The primary exhibits velocity variations with a semi-amplitude of 273 km s-1 and an orbital period of 5.641 hr. We do not detect any spectral features from the secondary star or any spectral changes during the secondary eclipse. We use our composite spectrum to constrain the temperature and surface gravity of the primary to be T eff = 8690 ± 140 K and log g = 6.54 ± 0.05, which correspond to a mass of 0.18 M sun. For an inclination angle of 89.09 derived from the eclipse modeling, the mass function requires a 0.76 M sun companion. The merger time for the system is 7.2 Gyr. However, due to the extreme mass ratio of 0.24, the binary will most likely create an AM CVn system instead of a merger.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/721/2/L158

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Journal Volume
721
Journal Issue
2
Journal Page Range
p. L158-L162
ISSN
2041-8205

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
42047835
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
ECLIPSE; GRAVITATION; MASS; RADIAL VELOCITY; WHITE DWARF STARS
Descriptors DEC
DWARF STARS; STARS; VELOCITY