The Kepler light curves of V1504 Cygni and V344 Lyrae: A study of the Outburst Properties

TL;DR

This study analyzes Kepler light curves of V1504 Cyg and V344 Lyr, revealing outburst behaviors, challenging existing models, and constraining accretion disk parameters through detailed timing and decay rate analysis.

Contribution

It provides new observational constraints on outburst properties and accretion disk viscosity, testing and challenging the thermal-tidal model predictions.

Findings

Outbursts increase in duration over supercycles and reset after superoutbursts.

Quiescent intervals show a non-monotonic trend, inconsistent with existing models.

Decay rates suggest a steep dependence of viscosity on orbital period.

Abstract

We examine the Kepler light curves of V1504 Cyg and V344 Lyr, encompassing ~736 d at 1 min cadence. During this span each system exhibited ~64-65 outbursts, including six superoutbursts. We find that, in both systems, the normal outbursts between two superoutbursts increase in duration over time by a factor ~1.2-1.9, and then reset to a small value after the following superoutburst. In both systems the trend of quiescent intervals between normal outbursts is to increase to a local maximum about half way through the supercycle - the interval from one superoutburst to the next - and then to decrease back to a small value by the time of the next superoutburst. This is inconsistent with Osaki's thermal-tidal model, which predicts a monotonic increase in the quiescent intervals between normal outbursts during a supercycle. Also, most of the normal outbursts have an asymmetric, fast-rise/slower-decline shape, consistent with outbursts triggered at large radii. The exponential rate of decay of the plateau phase of the superoutbursts is 8 d/mag for V1504 Cyg and 12 d/mag for V344 Lyr. This time scale gives a direct measure of the viscous time scale in the outer accretion disk given the expectation that the entire disk is in the hot, viscous state during superoutburst. The resulting constraint on the Shakura-Sunyaev parameter, alpha_{hot} ~ 0.1, is consistent with the value inferred from the fast dwarf nova decays. By looking at the slow decay rate for superoutbursts, which occur in systems below the period gap, in combination with the slow decay rate in one long outburst above the period gap (in U Gem), we infer a steep dependence of the decay rate on orbital period for long outbursts. This implies a steep dependence of alpha_{cold} on orbital period, consistent with tidal torquing as being the dominant angular momentum transport mechanism in quiescent disks in interacting binary systems.