Magnetically-gated accretion model: application to short bursts in the intermediate polar V1223 Sgr

TL;DR

This study applies the magnetospheric gating model to explain short outbursts in the intermediate polar V1223 Sgr, showing good agreement with observed outburst characteristics and highlighting the model's sensitivity to assumptions.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates that the magnetospheric gating model can account for short outbursts in intermediate polars and compares its predictions with observational data, emphasizing the need for model refinement.

Findings

V1223 Sgr exhibited short outbursts lasting 2-3 hours.

The model successfully reproduces outburst duration and intensity.

Short outbursts identified in other intermediate polars, but not in series like V1223 Sgr.

Abstract

Some intermediate polars show outbursts that are much shorter than those observed in normal dwarf novae, and whose origin has remained unelucidated for a long time. We examine here the case of V1223 Sgr, an intermediate polar that showed a short outburst in 1984, and compare the outburst characteristics with the predictions of the magnetospheric gating model. We use the archival data from the AAVSO from which we extract the outburst profiles. We use our code for computing the time-dependent evolution of an accretion disc truncated by the white dwarf magnetic field, using a simple description of the interaction between the disc and the magnetic field, as in D'Antona and Spruit (2010). We find that V1223 Sgr underwent a series of short outbursts, with a rise lasting for typically two to three hours, and a slightly longer decay. When applied to intermediate polars, the model by D'Antona and Spruit (2010) accounts well for the observed outburst duration and intensity. We confirm, however, that the model outcome depends sensitively on the rather poorly constrained model's assumptions. We have also searched the AAVSO database for short outbursts in other IPs, identifying individual short outbursts in FO Aqr, TV Col, NY Lup and EI UMa, but no series as those observed in V1223 Sgr. We also found a superoutburst, followed by a reflare in CTCV J2056-3014. Although the magnetic-gating accretion instability model is clearly responsible for the series of V1223 Sgr short outbursts and most probably for similar events in other intermediate polars, the model describing this process needs improving, in particular concerning the interaction of the white-dwarf's magnetic field with the accretion disc. This difficult task might benefit from further comparison of the model outcome with additional observations having good time coverage and time resolution.