Journal
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 399, Issue 3, Pages 1167-1174Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15376.x
Keywords
accretion; accretion discs; stars: individual: GK Per; novae; cataclysmic variables; X-rays: binaries
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Funding
- UK Swift Science Data Centre at the University of Leicester
- STFC
- STFC [PP/E00119X/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [PP/E00119X/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- UK Space Agency [ST/G008655/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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The 2006 outburst of GK Persei differed significantly at optical and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths from typical outbursts of this object. We present multiwavelength (X-ray, UV and optical) Swift and AAVSO data, giving unprecedented broad-band coverage of the outburst, allowing us to follow the evolution of the longer-than-normal 2006 outburst across these wavelengths. In the optical and UV we see a triple-peaked morphology with maximum brightness similar to 1.5 mag lower than in previous years. In contrast, the peak hard X-ray flux is the same as in previous outbursts. We resolve this dichotomy by demonstrating that the hard X-ray flux only accounts for a small fraction of the total energy liberated during accretion, and interpret the optical/UV outburst profile as arising from a series of heating and cooling waves traversing the disc, caused by its variable density profile.
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