Abstract

An Update on the Quirks of Pulsating, Accreting White Dwarfs

Paula Szkody (U of Washington)

Anjum Mukadam (U of Washington), Boris Gaensicke, J.J. Hermes, Odette Toloza (U of Warwick)

At the 18th European White Dwarf Workshop, we reported results for several dwarf novae containing pulsating white dwarfs that had undergone an outburst in 2006-2007. HST and optical data on the white dwarfs in GW Lib, EQ Lyn and V455 And all showed different behaviors in the years following their outbursts. We have continued to follow these objects for the last 2 years, providing timescales of 6-7 years past outburst. All three reached their optical quiescent values within 4 years but pulsational stability has not returned. EQ Lyn showed its pre-outburst pulsation period after 3 years, but it continues to alternate between pulsation and disk superhump periods while remaining at quiescence. V455 And has almost reached its pre-outburst pulsation period, while GW Lib still remains heated and with a different pulsation spectrum than quiescence. These results indicate that asteroseismology provides a unique picture of the effects of outburst heating on the white dwarf.

Mode of presentation: oral