SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL 52033
U. C. BERKELEY
601 CAMPBELL HALL
BERKELEY
CALIFORNIA USA 94720
Tel: (510) 642-1665 Fax: (510) 642-3411
Medium: 2GBDAT
Subject: CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES
X-RAY EMISSION FROM WHITE DWARF SYMBIOTIC BINARIES
ABSTRACT
Symbiotic stars are long period (years) binaries containing a red giant which donates matter (typically via a wind) to a white dwarf (WD), main sequence star, or neutron star. We propose to search for pulsed, variable, and persistent x-rays from four symbiotics known to contain WD's. Two of the WD's are thought to be magnetic, and there is some chance that the other two are as well. Detection of a stable pulse from any of these systems would confirm the presence of accretion onto a magnetic WD, and allow for a direct comparison to magnetic CV's (the DQ Her and AM Her systems). A bright pulsed source would also allow for pulse spectroscopy, although even a single spectrum could provide information about the composition of the red giant wind and the nature of the emission region.
CO-INVESTIGATORS
TARGETS
| TARGET NAME | PRI | RA | DEC | TIME | TC | OFF | GIS | SIS CNT | OBS |
|---|
| 1)RS OPH | 1 | 267.5550 | -6.7075 | 40 ks | N | Y | P | 20.00000 | 1 |
| 4)AG DRA | 2 | 240.4208 | 66.8025 | 30 ks | N | Y | P | 20.00000 | 1 |