Explorations into 3D Doppler Tomography of Interacting Binaries

Abstract

AbstractOver the past twenty-five years, the technique of Doppler tomography has produced many 2D images of the accretion structures and other gas flows in a range of systems containing compact and non-compact stars, including cataclysmic variables, polars, Algols, x-ray, and gamma-ray binaries. Recent 3D images derived from the Radio astronomical Approach (RA) have revealed prominent gas motions beyond the central plane, and display the usual characteristics found in 2D images, as well as new evidence of tilted or precessing accretion disks around the mass gainer, and magnetic loop prominences and coronal mass ejections associated with the donor star. In this work, we have compared new 3D images derived from the back projection tomography technique with those derived from the RA method. In general, back projection produces sharper and more distinctive images than the RA method, thereby permitting a more detailed study of the physical properties of the accretion sources.