On the origin of the peculiar cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1405.2182


The nova-like variable AE Aquarii is a close binary system containing a red dwarf and a magnetized white dwarf rotating with the period of 33 seconds. A short spin period of the white dwarf is caused by an intensive mass exchange between the system components during a previous epoch. We show that a high rate of disk accretion onto the white dwarf surface resulted in temporary screening of its magnetic field and spin-up of the white dwarf to its present spin period. Transition of the white dwarf to the ejector state occurred at a final stage of the spin-up epoch after its magnetic field had emerged from the accreted plasma due to diffusion. In the frame of this scenario AE Aqr represents a missing link in the chain of Polars evolution and the white dwarf resembles a recycled pulsar.

Read this paper on arXiv…

N. Beskrovnaya and N. Ikhsanov
Mon, 12 May 14
36/40

Comments: 8 pages, accepted for publication in “Advances in Space Research”. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1205.4330