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Creators/Authors contains: "Amaral, Larissa Antunes"

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  1. ABSTRACT

    AM CVn-type systems are ultracompact, helium-accreting binary systems that are evolutionarily linked to the progenitors of thermonuclear supernovae and are expected to be strong Galactic sources of gravitational waves detectable to upcoming space-based interferometers. AM CVn binaries with orbital periods ≲20–23 min exist in a constant high state with a permanently ionized accretion disc. We present the discovery of TIC 378898110, a bright (G = 14.3 mag), nearby (309.3 ± 1.8 pc), high-state AM CVn binary discovered in TESS two-minute-cadence photometry. At optical wavelengths, this is the third-brightest AM CVn binary known. The photometry of the system shows a 23.07172(6) min periodicity, which is likely to be the ‘superhump’ period and implies an orbital period in the range 22–23 min. There is no detectable spectroscopic variability. The system underwent an unusual, year-long brightening event during which the dominant photometric period changed to a shorter period (constrained to 20.5 ± 2.0 min), which we suggest may be evidence for the onset of disc-edge eclipses. The estimated mass transfer rate, $\log (\dot{M} / \mathrm{M_\odot } \, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}) = -6.8 \pm 1.0$, is unusually high and may suggest a high-mass or thermally inflated donor. The binary is detected as an X-ray source, with a flux of $9.2 ^{+4.2}_{-1.8} \times 10^{-13}$ erg cm−2 s−1 in the 0.3–10 keV range. TIC 378898110 is the shortest-period binary system discovered with TESS, and its large predicted gravitational-wave amplitude makes it a compelling verification binary for future space-based gravitational wave detectors.

     
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  2. ABSTRACT

    We report the discovery of 74 new pulsating DA white dwarf stars, or ZZ Cetis, from the data obtained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission, from Sectors 1 to 39, corresponding to the first 3 cycles. This includes objects from the Southern hemisphere (Sectors 1–13 and 27–39) and the Northern hemisphere (Sectors 14–26), observed with 120 s- and 20 s-cadence. Our sample likely includes 13 low-mass and one extremely low-mass white dwarf candidate, considering the mass determinations from fitting Gaia magnitudes and parallax. In addition, we present follow-up time series photometry from ground-based telescopes for 11 objects, which allowed us to detect a larger number of periods. For each object, we analysed the period spectra and performed an asteroseismological analysis, and we estimate the structure parameters of the sample, i.e. stellar mass, effective temperature, and hydrogen envelope mass. We estimate a mean asteroseismological mass of 〈Msis〉 = 0.635 ± 0.015 M⊙, excluding the candidate low or extremely low-mass objects. This value is in agreement with the mean mass using estimates from Gaia data, which is 〈Mphot〉 = 0.631 ± 0.040 M⊙, and with the mean mass of previously known ZZ Cetis of 〈M*〉 = 0.644 ± 0.034 M⊙. Our sample of 74 new bright ZZ Cetis increases the number of known ZZ Cetis by ∼20 per cent.

     
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