The cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii: B-V colour of the flares

TL;DR

This study presents simultaneous B and V band observations of AE Aquarii, showing that the star becomes bluer as it brightens, and models its flaring behavior with specific color and temperature ranges.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the color-magnitude behavior of AE Aqr during flares and proposes a model with specific flare properties.

Findings

Star becomes bluer when brighter

Flares have B-V between 0.03 and 0.30

Flares have temperatures between 8000K and 12000K

Abstract

We report simultaneous observations of the flaring behaviour of the cataclysmic variable star AE Aqr. The observations are in Johnson B and V bands. The colour-magnitude diagrams (B-V versus V and B-V vs. B) show that the star becomes blues as it becomes brighter. In our model AE Aqr behaviour can be explained with flares (fireballs) with 0.03 < B-V < 0.30 and temperature in the interval 8000 < T < 12000.