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# X-ray and UV observations of the dwarf nova VW Hyi in quiescence

## 1 Introduction

Dwarf novae are powerful X-ray sources with luminosities of $`10^{30}`$$`10^{33}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The origin of these X-rays is thought to be the boundary layer between the white dwarf and the inner edge of the accretion disk. There the disk material, initially moving at a Keplerian velocity, dissipates its kinetic energy while being decelerated to the rotation velocity of the white dwarf. The structure of the boundary layer is still an unsolved problem in our understanding of equatorial accretion onto white dwarfs. In the standard picture of dwarf novae, half of the accretion energy is radiated away by the disk, primarily at optical and ultra-violet (UV) wavelengths. Unless the white dwarf is rotating rapidly, the other half of the energy should be liberated in the boundary layer and emitted as X-ray and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) photons. However, observations have shown that for many dwarf novae the boundary layer luminosity is much lower than the disk luminosity. In VW Hyi the X-ray flux during quiescence was found to be a factor of 4 lower than expected in the standard picture (Belloni et al., 1991).

At a distance of 65 pc (Warner, 1987), VW Hyi is one of the nearest and brightest cataclysmic variables. It has been studied extensively at optical, UV, and X-ray wavelengths. VW Hyi is a dwarf nova of type SU UMa and undergoes normal outbursts every $``$30 d and superoutbursts every $``$180 d. It has an orbital period of 107 min and lies in a direction with an extremely low hydrogen column density $`N_H=6\times 10^{17}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ (Polidan et al., 1990). The X-ray spectrum in quiescence is consistent with emission from an optically thin, multi-temperature plasma with temperatures up to $``$12 keV (Wheatley et al., 1996). van der Woerd et al. (1987) detected coherent soft X-ray oscillations during superoutburst with a period of 14 s and suggested that they originate from the differentially rotating outer layers of the white dwarf or the boundary layer. Sion et al. (2001) inferred that the white dwarf’s rotation velocity projected along the line of sight is 400–500 km s-1, corresponding to a rotation period of $``$80 s. For our calculations, we assume an orbital inclination $`i=60^{}`$ (Ritter & Kolb, 1998), a white dwarf mass $`M_{wd}=0.63`$M (Schoembs & Vogt, 1981), and a white dwarf radius $`R_{wd}=8.3\times 10^8`$cm (derived from the mass-radius relationship in Hamada & Salpeter, 1961).

In this paper we present our analysis of XMM-Newton data obtained while VW Hyi was in a quiescent state. With the high sensitivity of the X-ray detectors and their broad coverage of the X-ray band, we are able to determine the temperature distribution of the plasma in the boundary layer. We search the X-ray and UV light curves for periodic and quasi-periodic oscillations and characterize the properties of the low-frequency noise (flickering). The capability of XMM-Newton for simultaneous X-ray and UV observations enables us to study the correlation between the variability of the boundary layer and the disk luminosity. From the high-resolution RGS spectrum, we infer the rotational velocity of the X-ray emitting plasma in the boundary layer. We derive abundances for elements with strong X-ray emission lines.

## 2 Observations and data reduction

VW Hyi was observed with XMM-Newton (Jansen et al., 2001) on 2001 October 19. At the time of the observation, VW Hyi was in a quiescent state 22 d after a normal outburst and 23 d before a superoutburst (derived from light curves provided by the AAVSO). From the EPIC instruments (Turner et al., 2001; Strüder et al., 2001) we obtained 18.7 ks (MOS) and 16.1 ks (PN) of continuous X-ray data. The EPIC cameras were operating in small window mode (MOS) and in full frame mode (PN). For MOS-1 and PN the medium blocking filters and for MOS-2 the thin blocking filter were selected. The Optical Monitor (Mason et al., 2001) performed 5 exposures with a total duration of 16.1 ks using the UVW1 filter (240–340 nm) and one exposure of 1.2 ks with the B filter. The Optical Monitor (OM) was operated in fast mode with a sample time of 0.5 s. We obtained 19.3 ks of data with the RGS (den Herder et al., 2001). Background levels were low during the entire observation.

From the EPIC MOS and PN data, we extracted source photons using a circular aperture with a radius of 40 arcsec. The count rates given in this paper have been corrected for the 88 per cent enclosed energy fraction of this aperture relative to a 60 arcsec aperture (see XMM-Newton Users’ Handbook). The background rate, which was estimated from larger off-center regions, contributes less than 1 per cent to the count rate in the source aperture. We included in our analysis good photon events (FLAG=0) with patterns 0–12 for MOS and 0–4 for PN. To create X-ray light curves, we applied a barycentric correction to the photon arrival times and combined the events from all three EPIC instruments. From the OM fast mode data, we extracted source photons using a circular aperture of 5 arcsec radius (81 per cent enclosed energy fraction). Sky background contributed $``$2 per cent to the count rate in the source aperture. The high UV brightness of VW Hyi caused significant coincidence losses at a level of 10–20 per cent. We corrected for these coincidence losses using the method described in the XMM-Newton Users’ Handbook.

## 3 Timing analysis

### 3.1 X-ray and UV light curves

Fig. 1 shows background subtracted X-ray and UV light curves covering three orbital cycles of the binary (orbital period 107.0 min). As orbital phase 0 we selected BJD(TT) 2452201.748, which is the time of peak optical brightness as predicted by the ephemeris in van Amerongen et al. (1987). The ephemeris has an accumulated uncertainty of 250 s or 0.04 in phase. With this choice of orbital phase 0, inferior conjunction of the secondary occurs at $``$0.27 (Schoembs & Vogt, 1981).

The X-ray light curves in Figs. 1 and 2 show variability on two time scales. Clearly visible is an orbital modulation of $``$30 per cent that is somewhat anti-correlated with the UV flux. The hardness ratio in Fig. 2 indicates that the X-ray spectrum is softer during the fainter part of the orbital cycle. The low-frequency flickering common in dwarf novae is seen as strong flaring with amplitudes up to $``$40 per cent and a recurrence time scale of $``$1500 s (see Section 3.3). Despite the strong variability of the X-ray flux on this time scale, the hardness ratio in Fig. 1 remains fairly constant. The average count rate in the 0.2–12 keV energy range is $`4.0`$s-1.

The UV light curve in Figs. 1 and 2 show a strong orbital modulation in the form of a broad hump. This orbital hump is thought to be due to emission from the bright spot, the hot region where the accretion stream from the secondary impacts the outer edge of the disk (e.g. Warner, 1995). On time scales shorter than the orbital period, the UV flux is less variable than the X-ray flux (see Section 3.3 for a statistical analysis). This is to be expected since the UV flux is dominated by emission from the inner accretion disk and the white dwarf, while the X-rays mostly originate from the boundary layer.

In the UVW1 filter, a count rate of $`1`$s-1 corresponds to a flux of $`4.5\times 10^{16}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$Å-1 at 290 nm. Accordingly, the UV flux from VW Hyi was varying between $`2.5`$$`3.8\times 10^{14}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$Å-1 with an average value of $`2.9\times 10^{14}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$Å-1 or 8.1 mJy. From the short B-band exposure (not shown), we estimate that the B magnitude was varying between 14.4 and 13.9. Both the UV and the B-band brightness ranges agree with past measurements for VW Hyi during quiescence (Pringle et al., 1987; van Amerongen et al., 1987).

### 3.2 Periodic and quasi-periodic oscillations

Periodograms of the X-ray and UV light curves are shown in Fig. 3. The spectral power is given in Leahy normalization (Leahy et al., 1983), which is suitable for data from photon counting detectors. In this normalization, the power in each spectral bin has a $`\chi ^2`$-distribution with 2 degrees of freedom (mean 2 and variance 4), provided that the source is non-variable. The dotted lines in Fig. 3 are the 90 per cent confidence levels for the detection of strictly periodic signals. For frequencies above 0.003 Hz, we do not find any evidence for periodic signals. Although the detection threshold is exceeded below 0.003 Hz, the large spectral power is not due to periodic signals but rather the stochastic process of flickering common in dwarf novae (see Section 3.3). For the frequency range 0.005–1 Hz, we derived upper limits of 3.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, for the amplitude of any periodic signal in the X-ray and UV data (confidence level 90 per cent).

To search for quasi-periodic signals, we divided the light curves into shorter time intervals and averaged the periodograms for all intervals. The insets in Fig. 3 show the averages of 10 such periodograms. For the X-ray data, there is a clear excess of spectral power between 0.01–0.02 Hz. Since the power is spread over many frequency bins, the excess is not due to a strictly periodic signal but rather indicates the presence of a quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO). By summing the spectral power in the frequency range 0.011–0.021 Hz, we find that the QPO is statistically significant at a $`6\sigma `$ level. To estimate the parameters of the QPO, we fitted to the periodogram a spectral density model consisting of a Gaussian plus a constant term for the photon counting noise using a maximum likelihood method. We obtained a center frequency of 0.016 Hz (62 s period), a FWHM frequency spread of 0.006 Hz (53–77 s period range), and an oscillation amplitude (RMS) of 6.2 per cent. To determine the quality of the fit, we simulated spectra with the power density function obtained from the fit by randomizing amplitudes and phases according to the appropriate probability distributions. We find that 96 per cent of the simulated power spectra yield a worse fit than the XMM-Newton data.

To further characterize the QPO, we assume that the peak in the power spectrum is caused by a series of random pulses in the light curve that have a Gaussian profile with a sinusoidal modulation. From the above fit results, we can then derive some average properties of these pulses. We obtain a pulse duration of 110 s (FWHM of the Gaussian profile) and $`A_p^2/t_p=0.004`$s-1, where $`A_p`$ is the pulse amplitude in counts$``$s-1 and $`t_p`$ the average pulse separation. $`A_p`$ and $`t_p`$ cannot be determined independently, but the non-detection of individual pulses in the light curve requires $`A_p1`$s-1 and therefore $`t_p250`$s.

The QPO is detected both for hard ($`>`$1 keV) and soft ($`<`$1 keV) X-rays with no apparent difference in strength. However, the QPO is not detected in the UV light curve, which places an upper limit of 0.7 per cent on the RMS amplitude in the 0.011–0.021 Hz range. Our periodogram analysis did not reveal any other QPOs in the frequency range 0.02–1 Hz. This places an upper limit of 2.4 per cent for the X-ray data and 0.7 per cent for the UV data on the RMS amplitude of any QPO with a frequency spread of 0.01 Hz.

### 3.3 Flickering and X-ray/UV correlation

At low frequencies, the power spectrum is dominated by the flickering typical for dwarf novae. This low-frequency variability is commonly modelled with a power-law spectral density function $`S(f)f^\beta `$ (see e.g. Timmer & Koenig, 1995). The power-law index $`\beta `$ is indicative of the underlying process. For example, random walk noise has an index $`\beta =2`$. We fitted the periodograms with this power-law model plus a constant component for the photon counting noise. To avoid a bias from the orbital variations at a frequency of 0.000156 Hz, we restricted the fit to frequencies above 0.0002 Hz. The results of the fits are shown in Fig. 3 (solid curves). We obtained for the power-law index $`\beta `$ a value of $`1.90\pm 0.19`$ for the X-ray data and $`2.02\pm 0.14`$ for the UV data. Both indices are consistent with a random walk noise process. To quantify the strength of the variability, we quote the RMS amplitude of the power-law noise above 0.0002 Hz. We obtained an RMS of 18 per cent for the X-ray data and 7 per cent for the UV data. To determine the quality of the fits, we simulated power spectra as described in Section 3.2. We found that in X-rays 45 per cent and in the UV 93 per cent of the simulated spectra yield a worse fit than the XMM-Newton data. We investigated the dependence of the power-law parameters on the X-ray energy but could not find statistically significant differences between hard and soft X-rays.

At frequencies below $``$0.0005 Hz, the X-ray spectral power appears to be lower than predicted by the model fit, indicating that the power-law does not continue toward low frequencies. We determined a 99 per cent probability that the low spectral power in the range 0.0002–0.0005 Hz is not a coincidence and inconsistent with the power-law fit. If frequencies below 0.0005 Hz are excluded from our fit, the power-law index increases to $`2.2\pm 0.2`$, which is still consistent with $`\beta =2`$. The concentration of spectral power around 0.0007 Hz, which gives rise to the strong variability on a $``$1500-s time scale (Fig. 1), may indicate the presence of a QPO. However, the duration of the XMM-Newton observation is insufficient to distinguish a QPO from a power-law spectral density function with a changing index $`\beta `$.

To investigate the connection between the X-ray and the UV variability, we calculated the cross-correlation between the two light curves. We removed the obvious correlation on the orbital time scale by first applying a high-pass filter with a cut-off frequency at 0.0004 Hz. The resulting cross-correlation coefficient as a function of time lag is shown in Fig. 4. A strong peak near zero time lag suggests a significant correlation between the X-ray and the UV variability. The correlation coefficient is normalized such that it has a value of 1 for maximally correlated signals. The high-frequency photon-counting noise introduces a bias that can reduce the correlation coefficient. If we correct for this bias, the peak correlation coefficient increases to 0.5. The central peak is offset with respect to zero time lag, indicating that the X-ray variations are delayed relative to those in the UV by $``$100 s. The X-ray/UV correlation disappears when the cut-off frequency of the high-pass filter is increased to 0.001 Hz, demonstrating that the correlation is indeed due to the low-frequency flickering on the 1500-s time scale. We also investigated the correlation between the hard and soft X-ray variability. We found a strong correlation between the X-ray fluxes above and below 1 keV, but the time lag was consistent with zero to within a few seconds.

## 4 Spectral analysis

The medium resolution EPIC spectrum and the high resolution RGS spectrum are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Both spectra exhibit strong emission lines, indicating the presence of a hot, optically thin plasma. The prominent lines identified by our model fits have been labelled. Spectral fitting was performed with the XSPEC package version 11.2 (Arnaud, 1996). As spectral models we used multi-temperature versions of the mekal model, which describes an optically thin, isothermal plasma based on calculations by Mewe et al. (1985) and Liedahl et al. (1995). For optimal fit results, we binned the EPIC and RGS spectra at one third of the respective FWHM detector resolution. In addition, a minimum of 20 counts per bin were required for the EPIC spectra so that $`\chi ^2`$-statistics could be used. To retain the high resolution of the RGS spectra, we did not further rebin the RGS data but instead accounted for the low number of counts per bin by using C-statistics (Cash, 1979).

### 4.1 EPIC spectrum

The X-ray spectra of dwarf novae in quiescence are commonly fit with one or two single-temperature plasma models. We attempted to fit these models to the EPIC spectra but found that they are inconsistent with the data. However, a good fit could be achieved with a combination of three single-temperature mekal models. For the temperatures of the three components we found 0.5, 1.5, and 5 keV. Adding a fourth component to the model did not improve the fit. It is evident from this result that the X-ray emitting plasma has a continuous temperature distribution, at least over the range 0.5–5 keV. The multi-temperature nature can be expected for accreting gas that cools as it settles onto the white dwarf. To account for the spread in temperature, we attempted to fit several mekal-based continuous-temperature models provided by XSPEC.

The best results were achieved with the cemekl model, which fit the data slightly better than the three-temperature model but with a smaller number of parameters. As the simplest of the mekal-based multi-temperature models, cemekl assumes that the Emission Measure ($`EM`$) has a power-law temperature-dependence

$$\frac{dEM}{d\mathrm{log}T}=DEM(T_{max})\times \left(\frac{T}{T_{max}}\right)^\alpha $$
(1)
where $`T_{max}`$ is the maximum temperature of the plasma and $`DEM(T_{max})`$ the Differential Emission Measure at $`T_{max}`$

$$DEM(T_{max})=\left(\frac{dEM}{d\mathrm{log}T}\right)_{T=T_{max}}$$
(2)
The integration in the cemekl code is performed logarithmically (note the $`\mathrm{log}T`$ above), so that a constant $`EM(T)`$ corresponds to $`\alpha =1`$ (Done & Osborne, 1997). The results of our fits are summarized in Table 1. Rows 1–3 show the parameters obtained when the spectrum from each of the three EPIC cameras was fit individually. As can be seen in the null hypothesis probabilities, the cemekl model is in very good agreement with the data. The three EPIC spectra yield somewhat different values for the parameters $`\alpha `$ and $`T_{max}`$. We attribute this to small discrepancies in the cross-calibration of the EPIC detectors. Because the parameters $`\alpha `$ and $`T_{max}`$ are strongly anti-correlated, the differences between the three fits are not as significant as they might appear. Row 4 in Table 1 shows the result for a simultaneous fit of the three EPIC spectra. The null hypothesis probability for the combined fit is significantly lower than for the individual fits, which is a further indication for the cross-calibration discrepancies. Assuming isotropic emission and a distance of 65 pc, we obtain from the fit a Differential Emission Measure $`DEM(T_{max})=4.3\times 10^{53}`$cm-3 at $`kT_{max}=6.0`$keV. Integrating the power-law model from $`T=0`$ to $`T_{max}`$ yields a total Emission Measure $`EM=1.4\times 10^{53}`$cm-3. The neutral hydrogen column density $`N_H`$ toward VW Hyi is fairly low at $`6\times 10^{17}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ (Polidan et al., 1990). Accordingly, adding photoelectric absorption to our model did not improve the fit. We derived an upper limit for $`N_H`$ of $`2.2\times 10^{18}\mathrm{cm}^2`$ (at 90 % c.l.).

In the cemekl model, the elemental abundance ratios are fixed at solar values and only the total abundance is varied. A significant improvement of the fit could be achieved with the cevmkl model (solid curve in Fig. 5 and row 6 in Table 1). In this model, the abundances for the 13 most common elements from C to Ni can be varied independently. Table 2 shows the best-fit values and the 90 per cent confidence ranges of the abundances obtained with the cevmkl model. Good constraints are found for the elements O, Mg, Si, S, and Fe, all of which have abundances near the solar values. The abundances are mainly derived from the K-$`\alpha `$ emission line of each element. The most prominent of these lines are labeled in Fig. 5. Because of the lower spectral resolution of the EPIC detectors, confusion of emission lines may bias the measurements for the less abundant elements. In particular, the estimates for Ne and Na are unreliable, since their K-$`\alpha `$ lines lie in the range 0.7–1.3 keV, which is dominated by Fe L-shell lines.

A good fit, though slightly worse than with the cemekl model, was achieved with the mkcflow model (row 5 in Table 1). mkcflow is based on the cooling flow model by Mushotzky & Szymkowiak (1988) and assumes that the Emission Measure for each temperature is proportional to the inverse of the bolometric luminosity (i.e. proportional to the cooling time). The variable parameters in the model are the minimum and maximum temperatures of the flow ($`T_{min}`$ and $`T_{max}`$), the elemental abundance (abundance ratios fixed at solar values), and the flux normalization. The good agreement of the X-ray spectrum with the mkcflow model indicates the presence of hot plasma in the boundary layer that cools as it settles onto the white dwarf. However, the cooling flow model assumes constant pressure and spherical symmetry, which may not be valid in the strong gravitational field of the white dwarf and for the shear and turbulence in a rotating, belt-like boundary layer. Since the cevmkl model provides the best fit, we will use it in our further analysis.

The maximum plasma temperature of 6–8 keV in VW Hyi is low compared to other dwarf novae. For instance, Mukai et al. (2003) found maximum temperatures of $``$20 keV for U Gem and $``$80 keV for SS Cyg, while Done & Osborne (1997) obtained $``$20 keV for SS Cyg. From earlier observations of VW Hyi during quiescence, Hartmann et al. (1999) and Wheatley et al. (1996) derived similarly low temperatures of 10 keV and 11 keV, respectively, using a cooling flow model. During these observations, however, the X-ray flux was about twice that observed with XMM-Newton (see below), which may explain our somewhat lower result of $`7.8`$keV.

According to our model fits, the bolometric flux from the boundary layer is $`8\times 10^{12}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$. Since most of the flux is emitted inside the XMM-Newton detector band, this estimate is fairly independent of the spectral model (see Table 1). For a distance of 65 pc, the corresponding boundary layer luminosity is $`L_{bl}=8\times 10^{30}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Here we assumed that, because of the high orbital inclination, half of the belt-like boundary layer is obscured by the white dwarf. We ignored reflection of X-rays by the white dwarf and a possible obscuration of the boundary layer by the disk. In comparison with previous observations during quiescence, the X-ray flux observed with XMM-Newton was about half of that found with BeppoSAX (Hartmann et al., 1999), ROSAT (Belloni et al., 1991), and EXOSAT (van der Woerd & Heise, 1987), and about twice that seen with Einstein (Cordova et al., 1981). Despite the differences in X-ray flux, VW Hyi had a similar optical brightness during these observations.

To further investigate the orbital modulation of the X-ray flux (Figs. 1 and 2), we extracted individual spectra for the bright and the faint parts of the light curve (orbital phases 0.4–0.9 and 0.9–0.4, respectively). We find that the spectrum is softer during the faint phase and that the ratio of faint-phase to bright-phase spectrum is decreasing by $``$10 per cent from the lowest to the highest X-ray energies. The softening of the spectrum can also be seen in the hardness ratio in Fig. 2. This trend is opposite of what would be expected if the decline in brightness were due to absorption by some intervening gas. Possible causes for the orbital X-ray modulation are discussed in Section 5.4.

### 4.2 RGS spectrum

The RGS spectrum (Fig. 6) shows a number of prominent emission lines, in particular the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ lines of some common elements and the Fe L-shell lines between 0.7 and 1.3 keV. As for the EPIC spectra, we fitted the RGS spectrum with the model for an optically thin plasma with a power-law temperature distribution (cevmkl). Because of the smaller energy range covered by the RGS, the model parameters $`\alpha `$ and $`T_{max}`$ were not well constrained. We therefore fixed these parameters at the values obtained from the EPIC spectra ($`\alpha =1.28`$ and $`kT_{max}=6.2`$keV) and only fit the elemental abundances. The best-fit model is shown as a solid curve in Fig. 6. The elemental abundances (Table 2) are in general agreement with those obtained from the EPIC spectra. The RGS spectrum tends to yield good estimates for elements with prominent Lyman-$`\alpha `$ lines in the RGS detector band (C, O, Ne). For other elements (Mg, Si, S), the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ lines are fairly weak and the more sensitive EPIC detectors provide better constraints. In Table 2 the more reliable abundance estimates have been highlighted. For most elements, our results are consistent with near solar abundances. We cannot confirm the large over-abundance of C and Si found by Huang et al. (1996) for a UV emitting ring rotating with the Keplerian velocity. However, the UV spectra on which these results are based were obtained 10 days after a superoutburst and the ring may actually be a post-outburst equatorial belt on the white dwarf (Warner & Woudt, 2002). The abundances in such a belt may be enhanced due to mixing with the outer layers of the white dwarf. In contrast, our estimates derived from the X-ray spectrum provide the abundances in the accreting gas.

Good estimates from both the RGS and the EPIC spectra were obtained only for the abundances of oxygen and iron. While for oxygen the two values are consistent, there is a noticeable discrepancy for iron. In the EPIC spectrum, the iron abundance is mainly derived from the Fe xxv K-$`\alpha `$ line at 6.7 keV, while in the RGS spectrum the L-shell lines of Fe xvii–xxiv determine the abundance. We interpret the discrepancy for iron as an indication that the power-law model slightly overestimates the emission measure for temperatures at which iron is in the ionization states Fe xvii–xxiv. The model appears to overpredict the strength of the Fe xx line at 12.8 Å and the Fe xvii line at 15.0 Å. The cause for this discrepancy may be a high opacity for these lines. According to Bhatia & Kastner (1999), the Fe xvii line at 15.0 Å weakens significantly relative to the other visible Fe xvii lines for column densities $`>`$$`10^{17}`$cm-2. For the accretion rate determined in Section 5.3 and for a boundary layer covering 10 per cent of the white dwarf, such a column density can be present if the iron in the cooling gas remains in the Fe xvii ionization state for $``$5 s.

The width of the O viii line at 19.0 Å is slightly larger than the spectral resolution of the RGS. The likely cause is Doppler-broadening due to the rotation of the boundary layer around the white dwarf. Broadening due to the orbital motion of the white dwarf itself is about one order of magnitude smaller and can be neglected. We fitted the line profile assuming that the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer is a thin, equatorial belt near the white dwarf’s surface and found a significantly non-zero rotation velocity $`V_{bl}\mathrm{sin}i=520`$km s-1 with a 90 per cent confidence range of 80–810 km s-1. Here $`i`$ is the orbital inclination of the binary. A slightly better constraint can be obtained by fitting the entire RGS spectrum as described earlier in this section but with the inclusion of the Doppler-broadening. We find a best-fit velocity $`V_{bl}\mathrm{sin}i=540`$km s-1 with a 90 per cent confidence range of 280–810 km s-1. This result is in agreement with the rotation velocity of 750 km s-1 derived from the 60-s oscillation (see Section 5.1).

## 5 Discussion

### 5.1 60-s X-ray oscillation and boundary layer rotation

Coherent dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) and quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) have been observed in many dwarf novae at X-ray, ultra-violet and optical wavelength (Warner, 1995). In VW Hyi the only X-ray oscillation previously found was a coherent 14-s DNO during superoutburst (van der Woerd et al., 1987). As its origin, the authors suggested the differentially rotating outer layers of the white dwarf or the boundary layer. At optical wavelength, DNOs have been observed in the period range 20–36 s and QPOs at the periods 23 s, 88 s, 253 s, and 413 s (see Table 8.2 in Warner, 1995). Recently, Woudt & Warner (2002) found DNOs with a period evolving thoughout the outburst from 14 s to $`>`$40 s and QPOs with evolving periods of hundreds of seconds. In all cases, the oscillations were seen during or shortly after an outburst.

The 60-s X-ray QPO we found with XMM-Newton is the first oscillation observed in VW Hyi during quiescence. The QPO is detected with equal strength in the soft and hard X-ray bands (i.e. the spectral slope is similar to that of the overall X-ray spectrum), which indicates that the oscillation is caused by small brightness variations in the boundary layer. Emission from a magnetic pole can be ruled out since the oscillation is not strictly periodic. The 60-s oscillation may be related to the rotation of the X-ray emitting gas in the boundary layer. Since VW Hyi is a high-inclination system ($`i=60^{}`$), intermittently brightened parts of the boundary layer may be periodically obscured as they rotate around the white dwarf, thus creating a weakly coherent oscillation. The average live-time of the brightness fluctuations is $``$110 s (see Section 3.2), similar to the coherence time of the QPO.

Assuming that the 60-s oscillation is due to rotation around the white dwarf, we can estimate the rotation velocity of the X-ray emitting gas in the boundary layer. For an orbital inclination $`i=60^{}`$ and a radius equal to the white dwarf radius $`R_{wd}=8.3\times 10^8`$cm, we find a rotation velocity $`V_{bl}\mathrm{sin}i=750`$km s-1. This is slightly larger than the velocity of 540 km s-1 we determined from the line-broadening (Section 4.2) but still within the 90 per cent confidence range. The velocity derived from the QPO may be biased since it depends on the somewhat uncertain values of $`i`$ and $`R_{wd}`$. Our velocity measurements indicate that the boundary layer is rotating significantly slower than the inner accretion disk, which has a Keplerian velocity of $``$$`3200`$km s-1. However, the boundary layer velocity is close to the rotation velocity of the white dwarf $`V_{wd}\mathrm{sin}i=400`$$`500`$km s-1 determined by Sion et al. (2001) from the width of UV-detected atmospheric lines. It appears that the accreting gas dissipates most of its rotational kinetic energy and decelerates to almost the white dwarf’s rotation velocity before it can radiate efficiently in X-rays.

### 5.2 X-ray/UV correlation

As discussed in Section 3.3, we found that the variability of the X-ray and UV flux seen on a time scale of $``$1500 s is correlated and that the X-ray flux variations are delayed by $``$100 s. In the past, correlation studies have been rare because of the technical difficulties of simultaneous X-ray and optical/UV observations. With the Optical Monitor on board XMM-Newton, the search for correlations is now greatly simplified. A similar correlation as the one in VW Hyi was found by Jensen et al. (1983) in the nova-like variable TT Ari. There the X-ray variability was also delayed by $``$1 min.

The observed correlation is somewhat surprising since the X-ray and UV emission originate from distinct regions in the binary. While the source of the X-ray emission is the boundary layer very close to the white dwarf’s surface, the UV flux is emitted by the inner accretion disk (e.g. La Dous, 1989) and the white dwarf. Because of the relatively low temperatures, the disk or white dwarf do not contribute to the X-ray flux. Similarly, the contribution of the boundary layer to the UV flux, as extrapolated from the X-ray spectrum, is only $``$$`3\times 10^4`$ of the total flux.

Because the X-ray flux variations are trailing those in the UV, we can rule out reprocessing of X-rays in the accretion disk as the cause of the correlation. Further investigations of the X-ray data did not revealed noticeable differences between the spectrum during flares and the spectrum between flares. We therefore suspect that the X-ray variability is caused by fluctuations of the accretion rate onto the white dwarf. These fluctuations may be due to accretion rate variations in the disk, directly seen via the variable UV flux, that propagate inward to the boundary layer. However, the viscous time scale, i.e. the time scale for matter to diffuse inward through the disk, is much longer than the observed delay of $``$100 s (e.g. Frank et al., 1992). The variable UV flux must therefore be emitted from near the transition region between the disk and the boundary layer. There the accreting gas is decelerated well below the Keplerian velocity and is no longer supported by rotation against radial in-fall. Accretion rate fluctuations near the inner disk edge may be quickly propagated to the inner parts of the boundary layer. Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister (1994) suggested that, during quiescence, accretion onto the white dwarf does not occur directly from the disk but via a corona that is formed by evaporation of the inner disk. In this model, the UV variability may be connected to variations of the evaporation rate that modulate the amount of gas in the corona and, with some time delay, the accretion rate onto the white dwarf.

As a feasibility test, we estimate the minimum size of the region responsible for the variable UV flux. We assume that the region is emitting as a blackbody and that it is causing the 7 per cent variability of the flux in the UVW1 filter (see Section 3.3). A further constraint on the blackbody can be derived from the non-detection of UV emission at wavelength shorter than 98 nm (Long et al., 1996). We find a maximum temperature of 3 eV and a minimum emitting area of $`6\times 10^{16}`$cm2. The corresponding width of an annular region with a radius equal to the white dwarf radius $`R_{wd}`$ is only $`0.01R_{wd}`$, which is much smaller than the distance from the inner disk edge to the white dwarf (see below). Only a thin annular region near the inner disk edge is needed to produce the variable UV flux.

If our interpretation of the X-ray/UV correlation is correct, the 100-s time delay can provide an estimate for the inner disk truncation radius. The radial in-fall velocity in the boundary layer is given by $`V_r\alpha c_s^2/V_k`$ (see e.g. Narayan & Yi, 1994), where $`\alpha `$ is the viscosity parameter, $`V_k`$ the Keplerian velocity, and $`c_s=(kT/\mu m_p)^{1/2}`$ the isothermal sound speed. With the assumption that the temperature in the boundary layer is roughly equal to the initial temperature of the cooling gas $`kT_{max}7`$keV (Section 4.1), and using $`V_k=3200`$km s-1, $`\alpha =0.1`$, and a mean molecular weight $`\mu =0.6`$, we find for the in-fall velocity $`V_r35`$km s-1. The 100-s time delay then suggests that the inner disk edge is $``$0.4$`R_{wd}`$ above the white dwarf. This result depends on the rather uncertain viscosity parameter $`\alpha `$ and should only be considered a rough estimate. However, the inner truncation radius cannot be much larger than our estimate since this would be inconsistent with the observed orbital modulation of the X-ray flux (see Section 5.4).

### 5.3 X-ray luminosity and accretion rate

In quiescence, the combined optical and UV flux from VW Hyi is $`1.7\times 10^{10}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$, half of which is probably due to the accretion disk (Pringle et al., 1987; Verbunt et al., 1987). For a distance of 65 pc and an inclination of $`60^{}`$, the corresponding disk luminosity is $`L_{disk}=4\times 10^{31}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$. In Section 4.1 we estimated for the boundary layer luminosity $`L_{bl}=8\times 10^{30}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$. In agreement with earlier observations (e.g. Belloni et al., 1991), the ratio of boundary layer to disk luminosity $`L_{bl}/L_{disk}=0.2`$ is well below the expected value of 1. The cause for this lack of boundary layer emission is still an open question in our understanding of dwarf novae. For VW Hyi we can rule out a rapidly rotating white dwarf as the cause since the rotation velocity of the boundary layer is much smaller than the Keplerian velocity (see Section 5.1).

As discussed in Section 4.1, the X-ray spectrum is in good agreement with the model of a multi-temperature plasma having a cooling flow or power-law emission measure distribution. This strongly suggests that the origin of the X-ray emission is cooling plasma in the boundary layer settling onto the white dwarf. The plasma has an initial temperature of 6–8 keV when it begins to radiate efficiently in X-rays. Our results are in remarkable qualitative agreement with the model calculations by Narayan & Popham (1993) for dwarf novae at low accretion rates. The calculations predict the presence of a narrow transition region between disk and boundary layer in which the accreting gas is decelerated well below the Keplerian velocity. At this inner disk edge, the gas begins to fall quickly toward the white dwarf and the density decreases by several orders of magnitude. Because of the low density, the gas can no longer cool efficiently and becomes invisible to us. The accreting material continues to dissipate its rotational kinetic energy while being heated to temperatures in excess of $`10^8`$K. Finally, when the in-falling gas is compressed as it piles up on the white dwarf, it begins to cool strongly via bremsstrahlung and becomes visible in X-rays. This compressed, X-ray emitting gas is localized in a thin region on the white dwarf and should be well approximated by a simple cooling flow model. In agreement with our measurements of the boundary layer rotation velocity (Section 5.1), the model calculations predict that the gas in this thin region has been slowed down to almost the white dwarf rotation velocity. However, the model does not explain the low ratio $`L_{bl}/L_{disk}`$.

As the in-falling gas is compressed and cools from an initial temperature $`T_{max}`$ to the much lower white dwarf temperature, it releases an enthalpy $`H=5/2\times kT_{max}`$ per particle. We can therefore estimate the rate of accretion from the boundary layer onto the white dwarf $`\dot{M}_{bl}`$ using the relation

$$L_{bl}=\frac{5}{2}\frac{\dot{M}_{bl}}{\mu m_p}kT_{max}$$
(3)
(e.g. Fabian, 1994). Here $`\mu `$ is the mean molecular weight (typically $``$0.6) and $`m_p`$ the proton mass. With an initial temperature $`kT_{max}7`$keV and a boundary layer luminosity $`L_{bl}=8\times 10^{30}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$, we find an accretion rate $`\dot{M}_{bl}=5\times 10^{12}`$M$`_{}`$yr-1.

For comparison, we estimate the accretion rate in the disk $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ from the disk luminosity $`L_{disk}`$. With the reasonable assumption that half of the accretion energy is dissipated in the disk, we can calculate $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ using the relation

$$L_{disk}=\frac{GM_{wd}\dot{M}_{disk}}{2R_{wd}}$$
(4)
For a white dwarf mass $`M_{wd}=0.63`$M and a radius $`R_{wd}=8.3\times 10^8`$cm, the disk accretion rate is $`\dot{M}_{disk}=12\times 10^{12}`$M$`_{}`$yr-1. Our result seems to indicate that $`\dot{M}_{bl}1/2\dot{M}_{disk}`$, i.e. that half of the accreting gas is lost in a wind. A model for such an outflow in dwarf novae during quiescence is described in Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister (1994). However, our estimate of $`L_{bl}`$ and therefore $`\dot{M}_{bl}`$ may be too low if part of the boundary layer is obscured by the disk. The orbital modulation of the X-ray flux (Section 5.4) indicates that at least some obscuration is present. A geometrically thin disk can obscure at most half of the boundary layer so that the actual $`\dot{M}_{bl}`$ could be up to twice our estimate. It is therefore still possible that $`\dot{M}_{bl}=\dot{M}_{disk}`$ and that no outflow is present. Our estimate of $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ may be too low as well if the disk is truncated at a radius significantly larger than $`R_{wd}`$. In Section 5.2 we found that the inner disk edge is probably $``$0.4$`R_{wd}`$ above the white dwarf. This would imply that the actual $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ is $``$40 per cent larger than our estimate. However, it seems unlikely that $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ can be sufficiently large so that the low ratio $`L_{bl}/L_{disk}`$ can be attributed to a low $`\dot{M}_{bl}/\dot{M}_{disk}`$. In order for $`\dot{M}_{disk}`$ to satisfy $`\dot{M}_{bl}/\dot{M}_{disk}=L_{bl}/L_{disk}=0.2`$, the inner disk would have to be truncated at least $``$1.0$`R_{wd}`$ above the white dwarf (or more if we underestimated $`\dot{M}_{bl}`$). However, such a large truncation radius is inconsistent with the observed orbital modulation of the X-ray flux (Section 5.4). We conclude that the low boundary layer luminosity $`L_{bl}`$ cannot be solely attributed to a low accretion rate $`\dot{M}_{bl}`$.

The key to understanding the missing boundary layer emission in VW Hyi may be the low initial temperature of the X-ray emitting gas. If the kinetic energy of the material at the inner disk edge, which is rotating at a Keplerian velocity of $``$$`3200`$km s-1, is converted completely into thermal energy, the plasma would reach a temperature of $``$21 keV. Yet when the in-falling gas first emits X-rays as it piles up on the white dwarf, its temperature is only 6–8 keV. The weak Fe xxvi line at 6.9 keV (see Fig. 5) clearly demonstrates that plasma at higher temperatures is either not present or not radiating efficiently in X-rays. It appears that the gas in the boundary layer looses $``$$`2/3`$ of the available accretion energy before it begins to emit X-rays.

It is possible that the gas inside the inner disk edge, where it is decelerated well below the Keplerian velocity, is cooling so rapidly that it cannot reach the maximum temperature of $``$21 keV. The gas would likely have temperatures higher than the inner disk but not high enough to emit X-rays that could be detected by XMM-Newton. However, no strong EUV emission from VW Hyi is observed, and, owing to the low hydrogen column density, not much of the EUV flux can be hidden by interstellar absorption. From the non-detection of EUV emission at wavelength shorter than 98 nm (Long et al., 1996) and from the quiescent flux detected by EXOSAT (Wheatley et al., 1996), we estimate that at most 20 per cent of the expected boundary layer luminosity is emitted in the EUV.

Livio & Pringle (1992) found that a weak magnetic field ($``$$`10^4`$G) of the white dwarf can truncate the inner disk, thus causing the UV delay observed during outburst in some dwarf novae including VW Hyi. The density inside the inner disk edge may be sufficiently low for the magnetic field to pentrate into the boundary layer and cause the plasma to emit cyclotron radiation. We estimate the cyclotron cooling time scale $`t_{cycl}`$ for thermalized, non-relativistic electrons from the emitted cyclotron power (equ. 6.7 in Rybicki & Lightman, 1979) and find $`t_{cycl}\left[\mathrm{s}\right]=4\times 10^8\times B\left[\mathrm{G}\right]^2`$. For a magnetic field $`B=10^4`$G, the cyclotron cooling time is $``$4 s, comparable to the in-fall time of gas not supported by rotation. A significant fraction of the thermal energy could be lost to cyclotron radiation that would be emitted in the radio band. However, strong radio emission from dwarf novae is not observed (e.g. Benz & Guedel, 1989). Also, we did not detect strictly periodic X-ray oscillations that would indicate emission from a magnetic pole.

Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister (1994) suggested that during quiescence the inner accretion disk evaporates and forms a corona. The gas in the corona is partially accreted onto the white dwarf and partially lost in a wind. The X-ray spectrum is dominated by emission from the cooling plasma piling up on the white dwarf. In this model, some of the thermal energy in the corona is lost to the wind or conducted back to the accretion disk, which may explain the low temperature of the plasma when it begins to emit X-rays.

### 5.4 Orbital X-ray modulation

Our investigation of the orbital X-ray modulation showed that the spectrum becomes softer when the flux is decreasing (Section 4.1). This spectral change is opposite of what would be expected if the decline in X-ray flux were due to absorption by some intervening gas (e.g. an extended bright spot). We therefore suggest that the orbital X-ray modulation is caused by a geometric effect, i.e. that during the faint phase some hot regions of the boundary layer are blocked from view, while cooler regions remain visible. For this to be possible, the obscuring material has to be comparable in size and close to the boundary layer (e.g. the white dwarf or the inner accretion disk). We consider three possible explanations:

1. The boundary layer may not be axisymmetric. It is difficult to imagine how an asymmetry that is synchronized with the orbital motion can exist on the rapidly rotating white dwarf. One possibility is asymmetric accretion caused by a non-axisymmetric inner disk. Again, it is unclear how such an asymmetry in the disk could persist for several orbital cycles. In some dwarf novae, stationary structures have been observed in the form of spiral waves (e.g. Steeghs, 2001), albeit only during outbursts and in the outer parts of the disk.
2. The boundary layer may be partially obscured by a non-axisymmetric inner disk. Since the transition from optically thick disk to optically thin boundary layer is quite abrupt (Narayan & Popham, 1993), the disk essentially acts like a circular aperture, blocking part of the X-ray emission. The fraction of visible boundary layer should remain constant, yet it may vary with orbital phase if the inner edge of the disk is not circular. Again, it is unclear what the cause of such an asymmetry might be.
3. The rotation axes of the white dwarf and the inner disk may not be aligned. It is thought that the boundary layer forms a belt-like structure on the white dwarf. Since the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer is mostly co-rotating with the white dwarf, it is likely aligned with the equator. If the inner disk is tilted with respect to the white dwarf’s equator, the fraction of boundary layer obscured by the disk may vary with phase, causing an orbital modulation of the X-ray flux.

In the latter scenario, it is unlikely that the rotation axis of the white dwarf is tilted with respect to the orbital plane since any such misalignment would disappear on a time scale of 100 years (Kopal, 1978). However, warping of the accretion disk may cause a tilt of the inner disk edge. Murray & Armitage (1998) found that tidal interactions are too weak to cause warping during the high state, but a tilt may be present in the quiescent disk of short-period dwarf novae. Lai (1999) suggested that warping of the inner disk may be caused by a weak magnetic field of the primary. The precession of a warped disk in VW Hyi could be revealed if future observations show a phase shift of the orbital X-ray modulation relative to the orbital hump seen in the UV.

## 6 Conclusions

We have analyzed XMM-Newton data of the dwarf nova VW Hyi obtained during quiescence. The spectrum indicates that the X-ray emission is due to an optically thin plasma that cools as it settles onto the white dwarf. The cooling plasma has an initial temperature of 6–8 keV when it first emits X-rays. This temperature is well below the $``$21 keV expected if all the rotational kinetic energy of the material in the inner disk were instantly converted into heat. Apparently, the accreting gas looses $``$$`2/3`$ of its thermal energy before it piles up on the white dwarf and begins to radiate efficiently in X-rays. We estimated for the luminosity of the boundary layer $`8\times 10^{30}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which is only 20 per cent of the accretion disk luminosity. The low boundary layer luminosity cannot be explained by a low mass transfer rate. We derived for the accretion rate onto the white dwarf $`5\times 10^{12}`$M$`_{}`$yr-1 and for that in the disk $`12\times 10^{12}`$M$`_{}`$yr-1. We determined elemental abundances for some common elements and found no large deviations from the solar values.

From the Doppler-broadening of emission lines, we determined that the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer is rotating with a velocity $`V_{bl}\mathrm{sin}i=540`$km s-1, which is similar to the white dwarf rotation velocity but much smaller than the Keplerian velocity of the inner disk. This result rules out a rapidly rotating white dwarf as the cause of the low boundary layer luminosity. We found a 60-s quasi-periodic X-ray oscillation with a coherence time of only $``$100 s. The oscillation is likely due to the rotation of the boundary layer. The corresponding rotation velocity $`V_{bl}\mathrm{sin}i=750`$km s-1 is consistent with that derived from the line-broadening.

The low-frequency variability of the X-ray and the UV flux is well described by a power-law spectral density function with an index consistent with a random walk noise process ($`\beta =2`$). In X-rays the variability is caused by fluctuations of the accretion rate onto the white dwarf. We found a correlation between the X-ray and the UV variability with the X-ray fluctuations being delayed by $``$100 s. This result suggests that the variable UV flux is originating from near the transition region between disk and boundary layer and that accretion rate fluctuations in this region are propagated to the X-ray emitting part of the boundary layer within $``$100 s. We estimated from the 100-s time delay that the accretion disk is truncated $``$0.4$`R_{wd}`$ above the white dwarf. An orbital modulation of the X-ray flux suggests that the inner accretion disk is tilted relative to the white dwarf’s equator and the orbital plane. This warping of the inner disk may be due to a weak magnetic field of the white dwarf.

## acknowledgements

This work is based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and the USA (NASA). The authors acknowledge support from NASA grants NAG5-7714 and NAG5-12390.


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# The Most Detailed Picture Yet of an Embedded High-mass YSO

## 1. Introduction

High-mass star formation is poorly understood because theory has yet to resolve the balance of radiation pressure, gravity, magnetic energy, and thermal heating (e.g., McKee & Tan 2002). Moreover, examples amenable to detailed study but young enough to have not yet formed HII regions are rare. First, massive YSOs are deeply embedded, form in clusters, and heat large amounts of surrounding dust and gas. As a result, the signatures of disks and outflows at small radii are easily lost in “background clutter.” Second, regions of high-mass star formation are sufficiently distant ($`>500`$ pc) that infrared and radio observations of thermal gas and dust are often confusion-limited. Third, massive young stellar objects evolve rapidly, and by the time the surrounding medium is dispersed, accretion disk and outflow structures have been at least partly dispersed. In two of the best understood cases, G192.16$``$3.82 (Shepherd & Kurtz 1999) and IRAS 20126+4104 (Zhang et al. 1998; Cesaroni et al. 1999), disk-like structures have been detected, but the rotation curves are barely resolved and the emission arises at large enough radii ($`>1000`$ AU) that in depth study is difficult.

The infrared Kleinemann-Low (KL) nebula in Orion is the nearest ($`500`$ pc), and most heavily studied region of high-mass star formation. The KL region is crowded, containing 16 identified mid-infrared peaks across $`10^4`$ AU (Gezari, Backman, & Werner 1998). Offset $`0\text{.}^{\prime \prime }5`$ south of the prominent peak, IRc2, is radio source I, first detected by Churchwell et al. (1987). It has no infrared counterpart, but it does power compact distributions of SiO and H2O masers, and it has been identified as a probable deeply embedded, massive protostar or YSO (Gezari 1992; Menten & Reid 1995).

The strongest SiO maser emission arises from the v=1 vibrational state. Because of excitation requirements ($`T>10^3`$ K, $`n(\mathrm{H}_2)10^{10\pm 1}`$ cm-3), it must originate close to the YSO. The first VLBI maps revealed an X-shaped SiO emission locus extending outward 20–70 AU from source I. The X also lay at the center of a $`200\times 600`$ AU expanding patch of H2O masers distributed in two lobes each comprising red and blueshifted emission and bracketing source I (Greenhill et al. 1998; see also Gaume et al. 1998; Doeleman, Lonsdale, & Pelkey 1999).

Taken alone, the distribution of SiO emission could have been interpretted equivalently in two ways. First, it could represent the turbulent limb of a high-velocity biconical outflow with a southeast-northwest axis. Second, it could represent hot material close to the top and bottom surfaces of an edge-on disk with a northeast-southwest rotation axis. Greenhill et al. and Doeleman et al. adopted the biconical outflow model, in part because the high-velocity outflow observed in the KL region on scales of $`10^4`$ AU (e.g., Allen & Burton 1993; Schultz et al. 1999) subtended the opening angle of the putative SiO maser cone. In addition, Greenhill et al. (1998) noted that the distributions of proper motions and line-of-sight velocities among the surrounding H2O masers were not readily consistent with the edge-on disk model and proposed instead that the H2O masers lay on the surface of a nearly edge-on, inflating, equatorial doughnut-like shell. This shell could arise from a slow stellar equatorial wind advancing into the surrounding medium or from photo-evaporation of an accretion disk. Because the major axis of this shell was aligned with the the so-called “18 km s-1” outflow in the KL region (e.g., Genzel & Stutzki 1989), it appeared that source I might drive the two most prominent outflows in the region.

Despite circumstantial evidence tying source I to large scale outflows in the KL region, ambiguity has remained. On the one hand, Menten & Reid (1995) noted that another infrared source, n, lies closer to the previously estimated center of the flows (Genzel et al. 1981). Moreover, high-velocity gas far to the northwest is blueshifted, while the corresponding outflow cone near source I is redshifted. On the other hand, the compact bipolar radio lobes of source n are oriented north-south, $`4050^{}`$ from the principal axes of the low and high-velocity large scale flows in the KL region.

To better understand the KL region and to test the biconical outflow model proposed for source I, we remapped the SiO and H2O maser emission, covering three $`J=10`$ transitions of SiO (v=0, 1, & 2) and the full velocity range of H2O emission. (The original maps presented by Greenhill et al. were significantly limited in dynamic range, especially at velocities close to the systemic velocity.) We measured the proper motion of the SiO v=1 & 2 emission, observing monthly over $`3.5`$ years, which is $`30\%`$ of the dynamical crossing time of the outflow. Here we discuss proper motions over a four month interval.

## 2. Observations and Data Reduction

We observed the v=1 & 2 $`J=10`$ transition of SiO with the VLBA, and the v=0 $`J=10`$ transition of SiO and $`6_{16}5_{23}`$ transition of H2O with the VLA in its largest configuration and including the nearby Pie Town VLBA antenna. We obtained angular resolutions of $`0.2`$ milliarcseconds (mas) with the VLBA and $`50`$ mas with the VLA. The spectral channel spacings in the VLBA and VLA imaging were $`0.4`$ km s-1 and $`2.6`$ km s-1, respectively.

Using the VLBA, we observed the SiO v=1 & 2 emission (from $`V_{\mathrm{LSR}}15`$ to +25 km s-1) simultaneously to enable registration of both lines to $`0.1`$ mas. Because emission from source I itself is thermal, it could not be detected with the VLBA. To locate the position of the YSO on the VLBA maps, we convolved the maps with a circular beam comparable in size to the beam of the VLA at $`\lambda 7`$mm and overlayed the degraded VLBA map on the VLA map of Menten & Reid (1995), who detected and registered the SiO v=1 and thermal continuum emission of the YSO. The uncertainty in this registration is $`10`$ mas.

Using our VLA observations, we measured the positions of the SiO v=0 masers ($`10`$ to +22 km s-1) with respect to the v=1 emission, which was observed simultaneously so as to provide an astrometric reference. The uncertainty in position relative to source I is $`10`$ mas. The positions of the H2O masers ($`10`$ to +16 km s-1) were measured with respect to a nearby quasar and compared to the absolute position of source I (Menten & Reid 1995). The uncertainty in this comparison is 30 mas.

## 3. Results and Discussion

Our more extensive mapping of the SiO and H2O maser emission now supports the edge-on disk model previously discarded. We propose that the v=1 & 2 SiO maser emission traces material streaming in a rotating funnel-like flow from the upper and lower surfaces of an accretion disk of a massive YSO. The v=0 SiO and H2O masers lie in a bipolar outflow along the disk rotation axis.

### 3.1. $`R<70`$ AU

In the most recent observations, the v=1 & 2 SiO emission traces an X as before (Figure 1), but we note two important new details. First, there is a “bridge” of maser emission extending from the base of the south arm to the base of the west arm, and there is a gradient in line-of-sight velocity along the bridge. Second, the arms are not radial. These new findings may be consequences of our having now mapped the v=2 as well as v=1 emission. (For instance, the bridge is outlined principally by v=2 emission.) Both findings are difficult to explain in the context of the biconical flow model. However, they are readily explained in the context of the edge-on disk model. The bridge and associated velocity gradient are natural signatures of emission from the front side of a rotating disk that is tipped down slightly to the southwest. The canting of the arms, so that they are not radial, is also suggestive of reflection symmetry about a plane (i.e., disk).

In order to estimate the proper motions of maser clumps, we identified one in each quadrant of the X that persisted in each epoch and maintained the same line-of-sight velocity. We overlayed images for the four epochs and registered them to achieve zero mean proper motion for the source as a whole. Most proper motions are 10 to 15 km s-1, though some clumps are nearly stationary on the sky. (One km s-1 over four months corresponds to $`1`$ VLBA beamwidth.) The maximum observed 3-D velocity is $`23`$ km s-1. The proper motions of maser clumps are chiefly along the four arms of the X (Figure 1). In the bridge, the motions are both outward and tangential, indicative of rotation and strongly in support of the edge-on disk model (Chandler et al., in prep).

We suggest that the arms of SiO emission represent the limbs of a bipolar funnel-like outflow (Figure 2), probably the turbulent shocked interface between outflowing and accreting material. In a rotating system, strong maser emission is expected along the limbs because that is where the longest maser gain paths lie owing to projection effects. Additional emission from the bridge may mark the nearside of the outflow wall, where at the base, higher densities or temperatures could compensate for otherwise shorter gain paths. The dynamical mass of the YSO is difficult to estimate because the maser material is not in simple Keplerian rotation. If the observed 3-D velocity is greater than the escape velocity, then the enclosed mass is $`>6`$ M, for a radius of 25 AU and velocity of 25 km s-1. We note that the 3-D motion of the maser material is helical. This may indicate the presence of a strong magnetic field that is probably anchored to the accretion disk, since massive stars are radiative and may not generate their own field. If the magnetic and kinetic energy densities are of the same order, then the field is on the order of 1 G, for a gas density of $`10^{10}`$ cm-3.

### 3.2. $`R>70`$ AU

The v=0 SiO and H2O maser emission arises chiefly from two “polar caps” that subtend the $`90^{}`$ opening angle of the outflow along the disk rotation axis (Figure 2). The velocity structure of the emission is somewhat disorganized and difficult to model in detail. However, the two lobes (northeast and southwest) display the same ranges of velocity, indicative of outflow in the plane of the sky. Within each lobe, the bulk of the emission displays a red-blue asymmetry across the rotation axis in the same sense as the disk rotation close to source I, although further study is required. Otherwise, it may signify coupling between the velocity field downstream in the outflow and the underlying accretion disk, possibly via magnetic processes.

Substantial overlap of H2O maser and SiO v=0 emission along the line of sight is surprising because maser action in each species requires quite different densities, $`10^{810}`$ cm-3 vs $`10^{56}`$ cm-3, respectively. Moreover, because molecule reformation on dust grains is essential for H2O maser action behind shocks, gas phase SiO would be depleted. In principle, the H2O and v=0 SiO maser volumes could be intermingled if the flow were inhomogeneous and if shock induced grain sputtering enhanced gas phase concentrations of SiO. However, the requisite $`>10^2`$ density contrast between emitting regions would be difficult to explain in the apparent absence of high-velocity ($`50`$ km s-1) gas motions.

We suggest that the wall of the outflow traced by v=1 & 2 SiO masers at radii $`<70`$ AU extends to larger radii where it supports H2O maser emission. The outflow itself has low enough density to support the v=0 SiO maser emission, which lies along the same line of sight as the H2O emission in projection. The ordered velocity structure of the v=1 & 2 SiO maser emission and the relatively complicated velocity structure of the H2O and v=0 SiO maser emission at larger radii may be a consequence of the increased effects turbulence or collisions with inflowing or ambient material downstream in the outflow.

## 4. Summary

We have fully resolved the structure and dynamics of material at radii of 20–500 AU from radio source I in the Orion KL region. Our maps provide the most detailed picture yet of molecular material so close to a massive YSO. We propose a new model for source I in which the accretion disk is edge-on and a wide-angle wind feeds a funnel-like rotating bipolar outflow. Consequently, the case of source I provides strong evidence that accretion in high-mass star formation proceeds via orderly disk-mediated accretion as opposed to coalescence of low mass stars (Bonnell et al. 1998).

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# VINCI / VLTI observations of Main Sequence stars

## 1. Scientific rationale

The modeling of the MS stars benefits strongly of the additional constraint provided by the linear photospheric diameter. Thanks to high precision interferometric measurements with the VLTI (Glindemann et al. 2000), equipped with the VINCI beam combiner (Kervella et al. 2000; Kervella et al. 2003a), we are in the process of producing a coherent list of angular diameters of nearby MS stars. The goal of our program is to refine our knowledge of their basic properties: age, metallicity, helium content, etc…

## 2. Interferometric observations

For all our measurements, we used the VLT Interferometer with its commissioning instrument, VINCI, a two telescopes beam combiner operating in the K band (2.0-2.2 $`\mu `$m). This instrument measures the squared visibility ($`V^2`$) of the interferometric fringes. $`V^2`$ is related to the angular diameter of the star through the Zernike-Van Cittert theorem. Fig.1 illustrates the $`V^2`$ measurements that we obtained on Sirius A, and the best-fit model that allowed us to derive its limb darkened angular size: $`\theta _{\mathrm{LD}}=6.039\pm 0.019`$ mas (Kervella et al. 2003c). Coupled with the Hipparcos parallax of $`\pi =379.22\pm 1.58`$ mas (Perryman et al. 1997), this translates into a radius of $`R_{}=1.711\pm 0.013`$ R. Among the other stars that we have measured (Table 1) figures Proxima (Ségransan et al. 2003), that is only slightly larger than Jupiter ($`R_{}=0.145\pm 0.011`$ R). The linear radii listed in Table 1 were deduced using the Hipparcos parallaxes.

## 3. Modeling using the CESAM code

To retrieve the properties of these stars (0.9 M and heavier) we use the CESAM evolutionary code (Morel 1997), constrained by the widest possible range of observations: spectroscopy, photometry, astrometry (for binary stars, giving the mass), interferometry, asteroseismology (when available). For the nearest stars, combining all these constraints together yields narrow uncertainties on the model outputs, in particular the age of the stars. This process benefits strongly of the interferometric constraint provided by the linear diameter. As shown on Fig. 2, the uncertainty domain defined for Sirius A in the HR diagram is reduced in surface by more than a factor 4, from this constraint alone, as compared to the classical parameters of temperature and luminosity. On this figure, the dashed rectangle delimits the uncertainty domain in luminosity and effective temperature, while the shaded area represents the uncertainty on the interferometric radius. The continuous line corresponds to a model with overshoot and the dashed-dot line to a model without overshoot, both with a mass of 2.12 M and ages of roughly 200 Myr. The dashed line corresponds to a model with a mass of 2.07 M and an age of 243 Myr. The modeling of this star is described in details in Kervella et al. (2003c).

For the very low mass stars (M dwarfs), the evolution is so slow that we currently cannot deduce precisely their properties by direct modeling of their evolution. However, we have compared the theoretical Mass-Radius relation predicted for this type of stars to our measurements (Ségransan et al. 2003), and the agreement is good even for very low mass stars ($`0.5`$M). This is an important indication that the equation of state used for these theoretical models is satisfactory, and that the source of the residual discrepancy lies probably in an imperfect modeling of the energy transport (convection and opacities).

## 4. Perspectives

One important limiting factor in the determination of linear diameters is the precision of the Hipparcos parallax. Though satisfactory in absolute, this precision can be insufficient compared to the interferometric angular diameter measurement. For $`\alpha `$ Cen A in particular, both error sources are of the same order of magnitude, $`\pm `$0.2 %, and the parallax error contributes significantly to the final uncertainty on the linear size. In this context, very high precision parallaxes, beyond Hipparcos, are highly desirable.

Currently, we rely on models of the atmospheric limb darkening to derive the true photospheric size of the stars, e.g. by Claret (2000). While their precision is relatively good (approximately $`\pm `$0.1 % of the total diameter), they start to be a limiting factor in the case of the highest precision diameter measurements. Our objective is to directly measure the limb darkening of nearby dwarf stars in order to avoid this modeling step. This implies that we sample the visibility function beyond its first minimum, and therefore presents particular observational difficulties. Aditionnally, we are in the process of bridging the gap in terms of spectral types between $`\alpha `$ Cen A and Sirius A through the observation of nearby F dwarfs.

## References

Claret, A. 2000, A&A, 363, 1081

Di Folco, E., Kervella, P., Thévenin F., et al. 2003, IAU Symp. 219

Glindemann, A., Abuter, R., Carbognani, F., et al. 2000, SPIE, 4006, 2

Kervella, P., Coudé du Foresto, V., Glindemann, A., Hofmann, R., 2000, SPIE, 4006, 31

Kervella, P., Gitton, Ph., Ségransan, D., et al. 2003a, SPIE 4838, 858

Kervella, P., Thévenin, F., Ségransan, D., et al. 2003b, A&A, 404, 1087

Kervella, P., Thévenin, F., Morel, P., et al. 2003c, A&A, 408, 681

Morel, P. 1997, A&AS, 124, 597

Perryman, M. A. C., Lindegren, L., Kovalevsky, J., et al. 1997, A&A, 323, 49

Ségransan, D., Kervella, P., Forveille, T., Queloz, D. 2003, A&A, 397, L5


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# A study of short-time periodic variation of the 8B solar neutrino flux at Super-Kamiokande

## 1 Introduction

Super-Kamiokande (SK) is a water Cherenkov detector in Kamioka, Japan. Solar neutrino data were collected at SK from May 31st, 1996 to July 15th , 2001 yielding a total detector live time of 1,496 days (SK-I). The solar neutrino signal is extracted from the data using the angular deviation between the Sun and the reconstructed direction of events . A total of $`22,400\pm 200`$(stat.) solar neutrino interactions were observed in 22.5 ktons of fiducial volume. The relatively high yield of real-time events in SK, 15 events per day, allows a search for short-time periodic modulations in the observed neutrino fluxes.

## 2 SK 10-day long sampled solar neutrino data

The solar neutrino data, selected over 1,871 elapsed days from the beginning of data-taking, are divided into roughly 10-day long samples. The time period of each 10-day sample is chosen from consecutive 10-day periods from May 31st, 1996 through July 15, 2001. There are on and off periods of data-taking in the 10-day interval and thus the timing of each sample is calculated as a mean of the start and end times and corrected by SK livetime. Fig.1 (left) shows the measured solar neutrino fluxes of the 10-day samples. All given uncertainties are statistical. The 1/$`R^2`$ (squared average distance in A.U.) variation caused by the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is corrected for the measured solar neutrino fluxes.

## 3 Search for Periodicity

The Lomb periodogram method, a spectral analysis for unevenly sampled data, is applied to search for possible periodicities in the measured 10-day long fluxes. The method finds periodicities based on maximum deviation of data relative to a constant in time. A detailed description of the method can be found in ref.. The maximum power appears at frequency f=0.0726 day-1 (or time period T=13.76 days) with Lomb power 7.51 corresponding to 81.70% C.L.

As a consistency check for the confidence level, 10,000 MC experiments are generated based on the observed timing information and the measured solar neutrino fluxes of the 10-day long data samples. The measured solar neutrino flux values are simulated according to a random Gaussian fluctuation. For making these null modulation samples the average of the measured fluxes ($`2.33\times 10^6`$ cm-2 s-1) is taken as a Gaussian mean, and the standard deviation of the the measured flux ($`0.32\times 10^6`$ cm-2 s-1) is taken as a Gaussian error . The Lomb method is applied to each MC experiment to obtain a periodogram and the maximum power is selected. Out of 10,000 simulated experiments, 19.58% have maximum powers larger than 7.51. This demonstrates that the confidence level for the T=13.76 day period of SK data is consistent with that of no modulation.

## 4 Sensitivity of Finding a Periodicity vs. Modulation Amplitude

We have studied the sensitivity of the SK-I solar neutrino data to find if a true periodicity indeed exists. The details of this sensitivity study can be found in Ref.. The sensitivity of finding the correct period varies rapidly near the sampling time periods of 10 $``$ 20 days. Based on the MC study, the Lomb method is expected to find the true periodicity of the SK-I data, if any, with an efficiency of 95% at a modulation amplitude of 10% of the averaged flux and a period of longer than 40 days in case of the 10-day long sample.

## 5 Summary

We have presented the measured solar neutrino fluxes of 10-day long samples using all 1,496 days of SK data. No significant periodicity was found in the SK solar neutrino data when a search was made to look for periodic modulations of the observed fluxes using the Lomb method. Based on a MC study, we have obtained the probability of finding a true periodicity in the SK data as a function of the modulation magnitude. The Lomb method should have found a periodic modulation in the SK-I solar neutrino data of 10-day long samples if the modulation period were longer than 40 days and its magnitude was larger than 10% of the average measured neutrino fluxes.


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# On the Formation of Brown Dwarfs

## 1 Introduction

Brown dwarfs are entities with mass below that require for hydrogen burning to ignite ($`<0.075M_{}`$) and above that associated with gaseous giant planets ($``$ 13 Jupiter masses). Although the existence of brown dwarfs was proposed by Kumar in 1963, their cool dim nature consigned them to a strictly theoretical status for more than three decades. Recently, however, improved observational capabilities have led to the discovery of many brown dwarfs, prompting a renaissance in our understanding of these objects. Brown dwarfs are now known as companions to main sequence stars (Nakajima et al. 1995), as cluster members (Rebolo et al. 1995, Lucas & Roche 2000) as field objects (Ruiz et al. 1997), and as binary pairs (Basri & Martin 1999). Surveys such as the Deep Near-Infrared Survey (DENIS) (Epchtein et al. 1994), and the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) (Skrutskie et al. 1997), are uncovering brown dwarfs in statistically significant quantities.

A number of planet search programs based on the radial velocity method have failed to uncover brown dwarfs orbiting in close proximity (with separation less than $`1`$ AU) to stellar mass primaries (Marcy & Benitz 1989; Cochran & Hatzes 1994; Mayor & Queloz 1995; Walker et al. 1995). Brown dwarfs also appear to be rare at intermediate separations ($`1<r<`$ a few AU) as evidenced by the speckle imaging survey carried out by Henry & McCarthy (1993). Similarly, Oppenheimer et al. (2001) did a survey for companions of stars within 8 pc of the Sun and found only one brown dwarf. A small number of brown dwarfs have, however been found as binary companions lying at separations much greater than a few AU (Neuhäeuser et al. 2000). Gizis et al. (2001) derived the wide companion frequency and said the current data indicated that about one percent of $`M_\mathrm{V}<9.5`$ primaries have wide L dwarf companions; the brown dwarf fraction should be 5-13 times higher. To further complicate matters, brown-dwarf binary pairs (i.e. both components of the binary are brown dwarfs) have been discovered. Basri & Martin (1999) claimed that they detected the first spectroscopic brown-dwarf pair with a period of about 5.8 days only. Koerner et al. (1999) found three brown-dwarf pairs with the projected physical separations between 5 and 10 AU. Recently, Gizis et al. (2003) presented analysis of HST images of 82 nearby field late M and L dwarfs and estimated that binary fraction is about 10 to 20 percent in the range 1.6–16 AU.

Because the mass of brown dwarfs is much smaller than the usual Jeans mass for a typical molecular cloud, Lin et al. (1998) claimed that the encounter between two protostellar discs might increase the Jeans mass locally. Reipurth & Clarke (2001) suggested that brown dwarfs are substellar objects because they have been ejected from newborn multiple systems. They use a simple model of timescales to show that this could happen. Bate et al. (2002) used a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code to show that brown dwarfs could be formed through the collapse and fragmentation of a turbulent molecular cloud multiply and thus confirmed what was suggested by Reipurth & Clarke (2001).

In this paper, we propose a formation scenario for brown dwarfs which provides a natural explanation for the current observational situation. Numerical simulations have confirmed that a rotating protostellar cloud may induce hierarchical fragmentation and the emergence of very low mass objects (Burkert & Bodenheimer 1996). However, these entities continue to grow as they merge with each other and accrete from the residual infalling envelope of the cloud unless they are ejected from the dense central regions (Bate et al. 2002). In many cases, the low-mass objects become the binary companions of a dominant massive protostellar object. In such a binary configuration, gas in the residual rotating infalling envelope settles onto a circumbinary disk and is then preferentially accreted by the less massive member through the outer Lagrangian point. This tendency generally leads the binaries to gradually acquire comparable masses. Subsequently, mass accumulation in circumbinary disk may lead to the collapse of low mass entities and become candidates of brown dwarfs.

Therefore, it seems natural to suggest that perhaps many brown dwarfs could be formed through fragmentation of the circumbinary disks. We study the “escape zone” where the brown dwarfs could be ejected and become field stars. We demonstrate that in some cases, the brown dwarfs get ejected but in other cases, they could become long-period companion. We also study the criteria that the brown-dwarf pair can survive. However, we do not intend to study the problem of brown dwarf desert here (please see the model by Armitage & Bonnell 2002). In Section 2, we present the results for single brown dwarf. The study about formation of brown-dwarf pairs would be in Section 3. We provide concluding remarks in Section 4.

## 2 Stability of brown dwarf companion around binary stars

We now investigate the orbital stability and evolution of brown dwarfs formed in circumbinary rings. These companions are perturbed by the tidal disturbance of the binary star’s gravitational potential. For computational convenience, we assume these newly fragmented brown dwarfs quickly become centrally condensed and the residual gas does not contribute significantly to the gravitational potential such that the dynamics of the system may be described by a few-body approximation. A direct force integration of the equation of motion is required for the computation of the orbital evolution of this system. We adopt a numerical scheme with Hermite block-step integration which has been developed by Sverre Aarseth (Markino & Aarseth 1992, Aarseth, Lin & Palmer 1993).

In this section, we further simplify the interaction procedure to a three-body (the host binary star plus a brown dwarf) problem. The mass of each brown-dwarf fragment is sufficiently small that they do not significantly perturb each other on the short term of several thousand binary periods. In order to make a direct comparison with some existing results, we first treat the brown dwarfs as massless particles. But, in general, we carry out full 3-body integration in which contribution due to the finite mass of the brown dwarf is included.

We consider a range of ratio ($`\mu =M_1/(M_1+M_2)`$) of masses ($`M_1`$ and $`M_2`$) for the two components of the binary stars. Following the approach by Holman & Wiegert (1999), we consider, for the host binary system, a range of orbital eccentricity ($`e_{}`$). The semi major axis of the binary is set to be unity such that all other length scales are scaled with its physical value. We also adopt $`G(M_1+M_2)=1`$ such that the binary orbital period is $`2\pi `$. In this paper, the total mass of the central binary is assumed to be 1 $`M_{}`$ in real unit.

Since we assume they are formed in circumbinary rings, we consider brown dwarfs with orbital semi major axis larger than that of the binary system. At the onset of the computation, all three stars are located at their apocenter with respect to their common center of mass. It is possible that the fragments may have a range of orbital eccentricity ($`e_b`$). Here, we consider two limiting eccentricity for the brown dwarf ($`e_b=0`$ and 0.4). We also set the ratio ($`\mu _b`$) of brown dwarf’s mass to that of the binary to be 0.05 and we assume brown dwarfs rotate in the same direction as the orbit of the binary secondary.

### 2.1 Ejection criteria

We choose a range of initial orbital semi major axis for the brown dwarf for the $`e_b=0`$ case. For each set of model parameters, we adopt four values for the brown dwarf’s angle of apocenter, $`0^{}`$, $`90^{}`$, $`180^{}`$ and $`270^{}`$ with respect to that of the binary system.

We are primarily seeking a critical initial semi major axis ($`a_c`$), larger than which the brown dwarf survives the binary system’s perturbation within a timescale $`T_d`$. Our definition of survival is that the distance from the center of mass of the system to the brown dwarf (starting with all four values of the apocentric arguments) must smaller than a critical value $`R_d`$. $`R_d`$ can be chosen to be a number which is much larger than the binary separation, say 10 or 100 times binary separation. The choice of this number would not affect the results much. Because as long as it is ejected, it will go through both the boundary of 10 and 100 binary separation within $`T_d`$. If it is stable, it will stay within 10 binary separation always. Only marginally stable cases are more complicated, but these marginal cases only happen when initial semi major axes are around particular values. Thus, we set the value of $`R_d`$ to be 25 binary separations. In order to compare with the results of Holman & Wiegert (1999), we choose $`T_d=10^4`$ binary period, i.e. $`T_d=2\pi \times 10^4`$. Based on several test runs, we find that the value of $`a_c`$ does not change significantly if $`T_d`$ is increased to $`10^6`$ binary period. Thus, we find $`a_c`$ to be a useful parameter to classify our results. Although we use a totally different numerical scheme as Holman & Wiegert (1999), we are able to precisely reproduce the results in Table 7 of their paper when we set the mass of brown dwarf to be zero as they have. But in general, we choose $`\mu _b=0.05`$.

From these models, we find that the brown dwarf’s “escape zone” ( with semi major axis $`a<a_c`$) is expanded slightly when they have finite mass (see Fig.1 & 2 for the comparison.) The expansion of the “escape zone” is larger for $`\mu =0.1`$ cases than that for the $`\mu =0.5`$ cases because the motion of secondary star is more affected by the finite mass of the brown dwarf. This effect is particularly noticeable for the $`\mu =0.1`$ and $`e_{}=0.6`$ case where $`a_c`$ is expanded from $`3.9`$ of massless particles to $`6.0`$ of brown-dwarfs with $`\mu _b=0.05`$. The hydrodynamical simulations indicate that fragmentation of circumbinary disks occurs primarily at around a few binary separation away from their center of mass because this is the location where disk gas may accumulate as a consequence of binary star’s tidal torque. Observations by Beckwith et al. (1990) indicated that about 42 percent of young stars have discs. These discs’ survival times are from $`10^6`$ to $`10^7`$ years and masses range from $`10^3`$ to 1 $`M_{}`$. For example, Roddier et al. (1996) showed that the GG Tauri system has a circumbinary ring with the density peak at radius about 2.7 times the semi major axis of the central binary orbit. The average density of this circumbinary ring is only about 0.1 to 0.2 of the peak value from 60 AU to 160 AU, then increases rather sharply with a constant slope to reach the peak at 250 AU and finally, decays roughly as a power law, $`R^2`$, until 460 AU from the center (see Fig. 9 of their paper). Thus, most of the low-mass fragments formed in the circumbinary rings have a high probability of being ejected by the gravitational perturbation of their host binary systems.

In general, the fragments might not move on circular orbits. It would be interesting to consider the models in which the brown dwarfs are assumed to move on eccentric orbits initially. Since the circumbinary ring of GG Tauri is actually an ellipse with the eccentricity about $`0.2`$ (Roddier et al. 1996) and the fragments formed there might not exactly move along this ellipse, these fragments’ initial orbital eccentricities could be even larger.

Therefore, we now consider a series of models with $`e_b=0.4`$ while all other parameters are similar to those for the $`e_b=0`$ case. The increases in $`a_c`$ in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 clearly indicate that brown dwarfs with eccentric orbits are definitely less stable than those with circular orbits.

### 2.2 Large radial excursion of marginally stable systems.

In general, the binary systems and the fragments formed in unstable circumbinary rings have non circular orbits. Thus, most brown dwarfs formed close to the binary are likely to be ejected. But, brown dwarfs’ with initial semi major axis $`a_ba_c`$, can be scattered to large distances from the center of mass of the system without escaping from its gravitational potential within the timescale $`T_d`$ (although it might still escape after all). We call these cases “marginally stable” because they could be unstable if one could integrate for larger timescale or use non-numerical methods to prove the instability rigorously.

In Fig. 3, We illustrate three such examples each with $`a_ba_c`$. In model 1, we choose $`\mu =0.1`$, $`e_{}=0.4`$, $`a_b=4.4`$, $`e_b=0`$ and the argument of brown dwarf’s apogee, $`\theta _b=90^o`$. In this case, the brown dwarf reaches to 200 binary separation by the end of simulation, i.e. $`t=T_d`$. In model 2, ($`\mu =0.1`$, $`e_{}=0.6`$, $`a_b=7.8`$, $`e_b=0.4`$, and $`\theta _b=180^o`$), the brown dwarf’s orbit expands to 50 times binary’s initial separation at $`t0.6T_d`$. But, subsequently at $`t=T_d`$, the extent of the brown dwarf’s radial excursion is reduced to approximately its initial value. In model 3, ($`\mu =0.5`$, $`e_{}=0.2`$, $`a_b=6.3`$, $`e_b=0.4`$, and $`\theta _b=270^o`$), the excursion reaches to 100 initial binary separation. These examples indicate that the existence of wide and marginally stable orbits and that under some marginal circumstances, brown dwarfs can be scattered to large distance from but remain bound to some main-sequence binary stars for a particular time scale. The discovery of a brown dwarf candidate at a distance of $`100`$ AU from a young binary star, TWA 5 may be examples of such a system (Lowrance et al. 1999).

### 2.3 Ejection speed of escapers

Brown dwarfs with $`a_b<a_c`$ are ejected from the gravitational potential of their host binary system. We now examine their escape speed. For this study, we first consider the case with $`\mu =0.5`$ and $`e_{}=0`$. We approximate the brown dwarf companions as massless particles with $`e_b=0`$ initially. Because brown dwarfs are assumed to be test particles and thus they do not interact each other, we can put more particles in one simulation to investigate different initial conditions and get better statistics. We place 24 particles around a ring with a radius $`a=1.3`$ from the center of mass of the binary. These particles are initially separated in the azimuthal direction by 15o between any two closest pairs. An additional 24 particles with similar azimuthal spacing are placed on a circle with $`a=1.5`$. All of these particles have $`a<a_c`$ such that all of them are ejected from the proximity of the binary’s orbit within $`10^4`$ binary periods.

We also carried another series of calculations with $`\mu =0.5`$ and $`e_{}=0.2`$ where 24 particles are placed on each of two concentric rings with $`a=1.9`$ and 2 respectively. Their azimuthal positions are equally separated by $`15^o`$. Finally, for the $`e_{}=0.4`$ and 0.6 case, we placed 24 particles in a similar manner on each of two concentric rings with $`a=2.4`$ and 2.5. Thus, for each binary star, we place 48 particles with $`a<a_c`$ around the binary. All of these particles are ejected from the system.

We summarize all the results in Fig. 4 in which we plot the distribution of the escape speed. These results show that the ejection speed is typically half the orbital speed of the binary. For $`R_b3\times 10^{15}`$ cm, $`aR_b`$, and the total mass of binary system to be $`1M_{}`$, the binary’s orbital speed would need to be $`35`$ km s-1. Our results show that the escaping speed of the brown dwarf ejecta is $`13`$ km s-1. In a young stellar cluster, such as the Orion, this ejection speed is a fraction of the velocity dispersion of the cluster which is in a dynamical equilibrium. Thus, brown dwarfs ejected from the close proximity of the binary would not generally escape the gravitational potential of the cluster. This result is consistent with the large concentration of brown dwarfs in young stellar clusters such as the Orion complex (Lucas & Roche 2000).

## 3 Formation of brown dwarf pairs

Indeed, close brown dwarf binaries have been found (Koerner et al. 1999), but these systems are generally not orbiting around some other binary main sequence stars. Similar to single brown dwarfs, close binary brown dwarfs may also be strongly perturbed by the gravity of the binary and be ejected.

### 3.1 Survival of pairs

In order to test the survival probability of the brown dwarf binaries, we first place a massless test particle to simulate the dynamics of a secondary companion around the brown dwarf (For some interesting cases, a series of models with masses for both brown dwarf companions are included). This approximation allows us to first explore the range of parameters which may be favorable for the survival of the brown dwarf pairs. Based on the results in Fig.1 and Fig. 2, we can identify the range of model parameters which leads to ejection of brown dwarf fragments. As a test, we adopt $`\mu =0.5`$ for the binary star and choose $`\mu _b=0.05`$, $`a_b=2.3`$ and apogee at $`0^{}`$ for the primary of the brown dwarf binary. The secondary of the brown dwarf binary is assigned with an initial semi major axis $`2.5`$ and apogee at $`0^{}`$, thus the separation of the brown-dwarf pair is $`0.2`$ which is inside the Roche radius of the primary ($`R_R=(\mu _b/3)^{1/3}=0.25`$). We also assume that the center of mass of the brown-dwarf pair is initially on a circular orbit around the center of mass of the binary system and the brown-dwarf secondary is on a circular orbit around the brown-dwarf primary.

Then, we try four cases of different eccentricities of central binary stars relative to each other: $`e_{}=0.0,0.2,0.4,0.6`$. Our results indicate that the brown-dwarf pairs would survive their ejection from the neighborhood of the binary in the low-eccentricity ($`e_{}=0.0`$ and $`e_{}=0.2`$) limit. But, in the limit that the binary system has a large eccentricity (i.e. for the $`e_{}=0.4`$ and $`e_{}=0.6`$ models), the brown dwarf pairs have a tendency to become dissociated. Therefore, it is plausible that brown dwarf pairs may remain bound to each other during their ejection from the binary system’s gravitational potential. But, it is also possible for their ejection to produce two freely floating single brown dwarfs.

The above approximation provides a useful tool for us to identify the range of parameters which allows a brown dwarf pairs to survive. The massless approximation for the secondary is applicable to brown dwarf binary with extreme mass ratios. We now takes the next iteration by replacing the ($`\mu _b=0.05`$) primary and a massless secondary brown-dwarf pair with a system of two equal-mass ($`\mu _b=0.025`$) brown dwarf companions. We find, with identical four sets of model parameters as above, brown dwarf binaries all remain intact as they are ejected by their host binary stars for these four cases $`e_{}=`$0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6.

We also enlarge the separation of the brown-dwarf binary to 0.3 which is larger than its Roche radius. Again all four sets of initial conditions are used. In all these four cases, the brown dwarf binary is always disrupted during its close encounters with the binary star.

### 3.2 Pair capture

We now explore the possibility that both brown dwarfs were formed as single brown dwarfs and that they may have captured each other to become a binary. In order to evaluate this probability, we repeat the earlier simulation in which 24 particles are placed in a ring around the binary system (see Section 2.3). The main difference with the earlier models is that a mass of $`\mu _b=0.05`$ is assigned to each particles. The corresponding Roche radius for each individual particle is $`0.25`$ which is comparable to their initial separation. All the particles are ejected from the gravitational potential of the binary system but no particle captured any other particle. We thus conclude this second scenario is very unlikely.

## 4 Concluding Remarks

We have proposed that large number of brown dwarfs are probably formed through fragmentation in circumbinary disks. We study the criteria for ejection from their cradles, the possibility to do large radial excursion for marginally stable systems and also the ejection speed of escapers. In addition to that, we also study the formation of brown-dwarf pairs.

For single brown dwarf satellites around binary systems, our dynamical calculations show that when they are formed in dynamically unstable regions, they are likely to be ejected from the gravitational potential of the binary system. These results provide an explanation for the discovery of field brown dwarfs (Ruiz et al. 1997, Tinney 1998) and also consistent with the discovery of brown dwarfs as cluster members (Rebolo et al. 1995, Lucas & Roche 2000).

For binary brown dwarf satellite pairs, the calculations of four body (main sequence binary with brown-dwarf pair) interaction show that these brown-dwarf pairs can remain to be bound to each other during the ejection if their initial separation is well within their Roche radius (which is typically $`R_R0.20.25`$ binary separation). Thus, brown dwarf pairs with separations less than their Roche radius are likely to survive the ejection from their host binary star because the ejection of the brown dwarf does not involve close encounter with either of their two stellar components. In contrast, when their separation is larger than the Roche radius of the brown dwarf pair, the binding force between brown dwarfs is weaker than the tidal force from the central binary so that the brown dwarf pairs are easily disrupted. These results might help to investigate the formation histories of brown-dwarf pairs detected in Koerner (1999) and Basri & Martin (1999).

We thank S. Aarseth, P. Bodenheimer, M. Duncan, E. Martin, M. Bate, M. Sterzik and B. Reipurth for useful conversations. We are grateful to the referee’s good suggestions. This research has been supported in part by the National Science Council, Taiwan, under Grants NSC 91-2112-M-008-018 and, in the U.S. part, by the NSF through grants AST-9618548, AST-9714275, by NASA through grants NAG5-4277 and NAG5-7515, and an astrophysics theory program which supports a joint Center for Star Formation Studies at NASA-Ames Research Center, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz.

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