A Link Between White Dwarf Pulsars and Polars: Multiwavelength Observations of the 9.36-minute Period Variable Gaia22ayj

Rodriguez, Antonio C.; El-Badry, Kareem; Hakala, Pasi; Rodríguez-Gil, Pablo; Bao, Tong; Galiullin, Ilkham; Kurlander, Jacob A.; Law, Casey J.; Pelisoli, Ingrid; Schreiber, Matthias R.; Burdge, Kevin; Caiazzo, Ilaria; Roestel, Jan van; Szkody, Paula; Drake, Andrew J.; Buckley, David A. H.; Potter, Stephen B.; Gaensicke, Boris; Mori, Kaya; Bellm, Eric C.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Prince, Thomas A.; Graham, Matthew; Kasliwal, Mansi M.; Rose, Sam; Sharma, Yashvi; Ahumada, Tomás; Anand, Shreya; Viitanen, Akke; Wold, Avery; Chen, Tracy X.; Riddle, Reed; Smith, Roger
Bibliographical reference

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Advertised on:
2
2025
Number of authors
33
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
4
Refereed citations
4
Description
White dwarfs (WDs) are the most abundant compact objects, and recent surveys have suggested that over a third of WDs in accreting binaries host a strong (B ≳ 1 MG) magnetic field. However, the origin and evolution of WD magnetism remain under debate. Two WD pulsars, AR Sco and J191213.72–441045.1 (J1912), have been found, which are non-accreting binaries hosting rapidly spinning (1.97 minutes and 5.30 minutes, respectively) magnetic WDs. The WD in AR Sco is slowing down on a yr timescale. It is believed they will eventually become polars, accreting systems in which a magnetic WD (B ≈ 10‑240 MG) accretes from a Roche lobe-filling donor spinning in sync with the orbit (≳78 minutes). Here, we present multiwavelength data and analysis of Gaia22ayj, which outbursted in 2022 March. We find that Gaia22ayj is a magnetic accreting WD that is rapidly spinning down ( yr) like WD pulsars, but shows clear evidence of accretion, like polars. Strong linear polarization (40%) is detected in Gaia22ayj; such high levels have only been seen in the WD pulsar AR Sco and demonstrate the WD is magnetic. High speed photometry reveals a 9.36 minutes period accompanying a high amplitude (∼2 mag) modulation. We associate this with a WD spin or spin–orbit beat period, not an orbital period as was previously suggested. Fast (60 s) optical spectroscopy reveals a broad "hump," reminiscent of cyclotron emission in polars, between 4000 and 8000 Å. We find an X-ray luminosity of in the 0.3–8 keV energy range, while two very large array radio campaigns resulted in a non-detection with a Fr < 15.8 μJy 3σ upper limit. The shared properties of both WD pulsars and polars suggest that Gaia22ayj is a missing link between the two classes of magnetic WD binaries.
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