Daniel B. Caton

Primary Black Hole Spin in OJ 287 as Determined by the General Relativity Centenary Flare

OJ 287 is a quasi-periodic quasar with roughly 12 year optical cycles. It displays prominent outbursts that are predictable in a binary black hole model. The model predicted a major optical outburst in 2015 December. We found that the outburst did occur within the expected time range, peaking on 2015 December 5 at magnitude 12.9 in the optical R-band. Based on Swift/XRT satellite measurements and optical polarization data, we find that it included a major thermal component. Its timing provides an accurate estimate for the spin of the primary black hole,

PHASE-DEPENDENT SPECTROSCOPY OF MIRA VARIABLE STARS

\chi =0.313\pm 0.01

SIZE AND SHAPE FROM STELLAR OCCULTATION OBSERVATIONS OF THE DOUBLE JUPITER TROJAN PATROCLUS AND MENOETIUS

. The present outburst also confirms the established general relativistic properties of the system such as the loss of orbital energy to gravitational radiation at the 2% accuracy level, and it opens up the possibility of testing the black hole no-hair theorem with 10% accuracy during the present decade.

Ultraviolet study of the active interacting binary star R Arae using archival IUE data

Spectroscopic measurements of Mira variable stars as a function of phase probe the stellar atmospheres and underlying pulsation mechanisms. For example, measuring variations in TiO, VO, and ZrO with phase can be used to help determine whether these molecular species are produced in an extended region above the layers where Balmer line emission occurs or below this shocked region. Using the same methods, the Balmer line increment, where the strongest Balmer line at phase zero is Hδ and not Hα, can be measured and explanations tested, along with another peculiarity, the absence of the H line in the spectra of Mira variables when the other Balmer lines are strong. We present new spectra covering the spectral range from 6200 to 9000 A of 20 Mira variables. A relationship between variations in the Ca II IR triplet and Hα as a function of phase support the hypothesis that Hs observational characteristics result from an interaction of H photons with the Ca II H line. New periods and epochs of variability are also presented for each star.

Implementation and Operation of a Robotic Telescope on Skynet

We present results of a stellar occultation by the Jupiter Trojan asteroid Patroclus and its nearly equal size moon, Menoetius. The geocentric mid-time of the event was 2013 October 21 06:43:02 UT. Eleven sites out of 36 successfully recorded an occultation. Seven chords across Patroclus yielded an elliptical limb fit of 124.6 by 98.2 km. There were six chords across Menoetius that yielded an elliptical limb fit of 117.2 by 93.0 km. There were three sites that got chords on both objects. At the time of the occultation we measured a separation of 664.6 km (0.247 arcsec) and a position angle for Menoetius of 2657 measured eastward from J2000 north. Combining this occultation data with previous light curve data, the axial ratios of both objects are 1.3 : 1.21 : 1, indicative of a mostly oblate ellipsoid with a slight asymmetry in its equatorial projection. The oblate shape is not an equilibrium shape for the current rotation period, but would be if it were rotating with an ~8 h period. This faster period is consistent with a pre-evolved state of the system with an orbital separation that is 50% smaller. Our best estimate of the system density is 0.88 g cm−3.

Photometric Study of the Eccentric-Orbit Binary V1147 Cygni

The eclipsing and strongly interacting binary star system R Arae (HD 149730) is in a very active and very short-lived stage of its evolution. R Ara consists of a B9V primary and an unknown secondary. We have collected the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) archival data on R Ara, with most of the data being studied for the first time. There are 117 high-resolution IUE spectra taken in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1989 and 1991. We provide photometric and spectroscopic evidence for mass transfer and propose a geometry for the accretion structure. We use colour-scale radial velocity plots to view the complicated behaviour of the blended absorption features and to distinguish the motions of hotter and cooler regions within the system. We observed a primary eclipse of R Ara in 2008 and have verified that its period is increasing. A model of the system and its evolutionary status is presented.

White dwarf variability with gPhoton: pulsators

We describe the implementation of a remotely operated telescope on the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network, a system developed and run by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Our telescope, operated by Appalachian State University at its Dark Sky Observatory, runs robotically on this queue-scheduled system, automatically taking calibration images and acquiring program images, and responding to Internet commands to image the afterglow of accessible Gamma-Ray Burst events. We describe the process of implementing a Skynet-run telescope from our client-side view, and offer advice for others who might consider putting telescopes on Skynet. The implementation has proven very successful, obtaining over a hundred thousand images over the past six years, of various targets for research and educational purposes, and has responded to several GRB observation requests with several afterglow detections.

ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF TRANSIENT MASS FLOW OUTBURST IN U CEPHEI

We report photometric observations, an analysis of the resulting light curve, and a preliminary model for the eclipsing binary V1147 Cygni (GSC 2660-2608; ). V1147 Cyg is a detached eclipsing m p 12.0 V system of A-type stars. The sidereal period of the system is 15.2513228(7) days, with an eccentric orbit of e p 0.275(12) and evidence of apsidal motion on the order of 0 .80(11) per century. Our analysis indicates that the stars are well separated and should yield precise main-sequence dimensions. Thus, this is a valuable system in several respects. Online material: extended table

Astronomy Back East: The Future of the University Telescope

We present results from a search for short time-scale white dwarf variability using gPhoton, a time-tagged data base of GALEX photon events and associated software package. We conducted a survey of 320 white dwarf stars in the McCook–Sion catalogue, inspecting each for photometric variability with particular emphasis on variability over time-scales less than ~30 ?min. From that survey, we present the discovery of a new pulsating white dwarf: WD 2246-069. A Ca?ii K line is found in archival ESO spectra and an IR excess is seen in WISE W1 and W2 bands. Its independent modes are identified in follow-up optical photometry and used to model its interior structure. Additionally, we detect UV pulsations in four previously known pulsating ZZ Ceti-type (DAVs). Included in this group is the simultaneous fitting of the pulsations of WD 1401-147 in optical, near-ultraviolet and far-ultraviolet bands using nearly concurrent Whole Earth Telescope and GALEX data, providing observational insight into the wavelength dependence of white dwarf pulsation amplitudes.

BVRI OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSES OF THE SEMIDETACHED BINARY FF VULPECULA

Spectra from the International Ultraviolet Explorer taken in 1989 September over one full orbital period of U Cephei (U Cep, HD 5796) are analyzed. The TLUSTY and SYNSPEC stellar atmospheric simulation programs are used to generate synthetic spectra to which U Cep continuum levels are normalized. Absorption lines attributed to the photosphere are divided out to isolate mass flow and accretion spectra. A radial velocity curve is constructed for conspicuous gas stream features, and shows evidence for a transient flow during secondary eclipse with outward velocities ranging between 200 and 350 km s{sup –1}, and a number density of (3 ± 2) × 10{sup 10} cm{sup –3}. The validity of C IV 1548 and 1550 and Si IV 1393 and 1402 lines are re-examined in the context of extreme rotational blending effects. A G-star to B-star mass transfer rate of (5 ± 4) × 10{sup –9} M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1} is calculated as an approximate upper limit, and a model system is presented.