1999/11/11 by S. P. Littlefair, V. S. Dhillon, Steve B. Howell +3 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03234.x
14 pages, 9 figures, to be published in MNRAS
arxiv created 1999/11/11 · openalex publication_date 2000/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present time-resolved, J-band (1.025–1.340 μm) infrared spectra of the short-period dwarf novae (DNe) WZ Sge and VY Aqr, and single spectra of the short-period DN EF Peg and the nova-like variable PX And. There is some evidence in the spectra of VY Aqr and EF Peg that we have detected the secondary star, both in the continuum slope and also through the possible presence of spectral features. The spectra of WZ Sge and PX And, on the other hand, show no evidence for the secondary star, with upper limits for its contribution to the J-band light of 10 and 20 per cent respectively. The spectral type of the secondary in WZ Sge is constrained to be later than M7.5V. Using skew mapping, we have been able to derive a value for the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the secondary star in VY Aqr of KR=320±70 km s−1, which in conjunction with KW from Thorstensen & Taylor gives a mass ratio of q=0.15±0.04.