%0 Journal Article
%4 sid.inpe.br/mtc-m21d/2021/10.25.18.55
%2 sid.inpe.br/mtc-m21d/2021/10.25.18.55.10
%@doi 10.3847/1538-4365/ac141c
%@issn 0067-0049
%@issn 1538-4365
%F 20211025
%T Breaking the Degeneracy in Magnetic Cataclysmic Variable X-Ray Spectral Modeling Using X-Ray Light Curves
%D 2021
%8 OCT
%9 journal article
%A Belloni, Diogo Teixeira,
%A Rodrigues, Claudia Vilega,
%A Schreiber, Matthias R.,
%A Castro Avila, Manuel Antonio,
%A Costa, Joaquim Eduardo Rezende,
%A Hayashi, Takayuki,
%A Lima, Isabel de Jesus,
%A Luna, Gerardo J. M.,
%A Martins, Murilo,
%A Oliveira, Alexandre S.,
%A Parsons, Steven G.,
%A Silva, Karleyne M. G.,
%A Stecchini, Paulo Eduardo Freire,
%A Stuchi, Teresa J.,
%A Zorotovic, Monica,
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Universidad de Buenos Aires
%@affiliation Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP)
%@affiliation Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP)
%@affiliation University of Sheffield
%@affiliation Gemini Observatory
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
%@affiliation Universidad de Valparaíso
%@electronicmailaddress diogobellonizorzi@gmail.com
%@electronicmailaddress claudia.vilega@gmail.com
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress castroavila_2004@hotmail.com
%@electronicmailaddress jercosta@gmail.com
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress isabellima01@gmail.com
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress du.stecchini@gmail.com
%B Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
%V 256
%N 2
%X We present an analysis of mock X-ray spectra and light curves of magnetic cataclysmic variables using an upgraded version of the 3D cyclops code. This 3D representation of the accretion flow allows us to properly model total and partial occultation of the postshock region by the white dwarf as well as the modulation of the X-ray light curves due to the phase-dependent extinction of the preshock region. We carried out detailed postshock region modeling in a four-dimensional parameter space by varying the white dwarf mass and magnetic field strength as well as the magnetosphere radius and the specific accretion rate. To calculate the postshock region temperature and density profiles, we assumed equipartition between ions and electrons; took into account the white dwarf gravitational potential, the finite size of the magnetosphere, and a dipole-like magnetic field geometry; and considered cooling by both bremsstrahlung and cyclotron radiative processes. By investigating the impact of the parameters on the resulting X-ray continuum spectra, we show that there is an inevitable degeneracy in the four-dimensional parameter space investigated here, which compromises X-ray continuum spectral fitting strategies and can lead to incorrect parameter estimates. However, the inclusion of X-ray light curves in different energy ranges can break this degeneracy, and it therefore remains, in principle, possible to use X-ray data to derive fundamental parameters of magnetic cataclysmic variables, which represents an essential step toward understanding their formation and evolution.
%@language en
%3 belloni-Breaking.pdf