Cross, J. E., Gregori, G., Foster, J. M. et al. (22 more authors) (2016) Laboratory analogue of a supersonic accretion column in a binary star system. Nature Communications. 11899. ISSN 2041-1723
Abstract
Astrophysical flows exhibit rich behaviour resulting from the interplay of different forms of energy-gravitational, thermal, magnetic and radiative. For magnetic cataclysmic variable stars, material from a late, main sequence star is pulled onto a highly magnetized (B>10 MG) white dwarf. The magnetic field is sufficiently large to direct the flow as an accretion column onto the poles of the white dwarf, a star subclass known as AM Herculis. A stationary radiative shock is expected to form 100-1,000 km above the surface of the white dwarf, far too small to be resolved with current telescopes. Here we report the results of a laboratory experiment showing the evolution of a reverse shock when both ionization and radiative losses are important. We find that the stand-off position of the shock agrees with radiation hydrodynamic simulations and is consistent, when scaled to AM Herculis star systems, with theoretical predictions.
Metadata
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jul 2016 13:27 |
Last Modified: | 19 Dec 2023 00:18 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11899 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11899 |
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