The Mid-Infrared Spectrum of the Short Orbital Period Polar EF Eridani from the Spitzer Space Telescope
Abstract
We present the first mid-infrared (5.5-14.5 μm) spectrum of a highly magnetic cataclysmic variable, EF Eridani, obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectrum displays a relatively flat, featureless continuum. A spectral energy distribution model consisting of a 9500 K white dwarf, an L5 secondary star, cyclotron emission corresponding to a B ≈13 MG white dwarf magnetic field, and an optically thin circumbinary dust disk is in reasonable agreement with the extant Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), and IRS observations of EF Eri. Cyclotron emission is ruled out as a dominant contributor to the infrared flux density at wavelengths ≳3 μm. The spectral energy distribution longward of ~5 μm is dominated by dust emission. Even longer wavelength observations would test the model's prediction of a continuing gradual decline in the circumbinary disk-dominated region of the spectral energy distribution.
Additional Information
© 2007. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2007 July 12; accepted 2007 August 20. Print publication: Issue 1 (2007 December 10). This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA. We thank the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) Director for his generous allocation of observing time for the NASA/NOAO/Spitzer Space Telescope Observing Program for Students and Teachers. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF), has provided many in kind contributions for which S.B.H. is grateful. This work makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/Caltech, funded by NASA and the NSF. C.S.B. acknowledges support from the SSC Enhanced Science Fund and NASA's Michelson Science Center. D.W.H. thanks Axel Schwope for helpful advice on calculating cyclotron spectra. Online material: color figureAttached Files
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 12961
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:HOAapj07
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)
- NSF
- Created
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2009-01-11Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)