Thursday, January 5, 2012

1201.0759 (S. Scaringi et al.)

The Universal Nature of Accretion-induced Variability: The RMS-Flux Relation in an Accreting White Dwarf    [PDF]

S. Scaringi, E. Kording, P. Uttley, C. Knigge, P. J. Groot, M. Still
We report the discovery of a linear relationship between the root-mean-square (rms) variability amplitude and the mean flux in the accreting white dwarf binary system MV Lyrae. Our lightcurve, obtained with the Kepler satellite, spans 633 days with quasi-continuous 58.8 second cadence resolution. We show, for the first time, how this cataclysmic variable displays linear rms-flux relations similar to those observed in many other black hole binaries, neutron star binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei. The phenomenological similarity between the rms-flux relation observed here and in other X-ray binaries suggests a common physical origin for the broad-band variability, independent of source type, mass or size of the compact accretor. Furthermore, we infer the viscosity parameter, alpha, and disk scale height, H/R, using two independent methods. In both cases, both values are found to be uncomfortably high to be accommodated by the disk instability model.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.0759

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