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yesterday

IXPE Probes White Dwarf EX Hydrae, Measuring 2,000-Mile X-Ray Column

Polarization measurements mapped EX Hydrae's accretion geometry with fewer assumptions than previous methods.

This artist’s concept depicts a smaller white dwarf star pulling material from a larger star, right, into an accretion disk. Earlier this year, scientists used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star and its X-ray polarization. MIT/Jose-Luis Olivares
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Overview

  • Scientists used NASA's IXPE to study a white dwarf for the first time, targeting EX Hydrae about 200 light-years away.
  • X-ray polarimetry constrained the height of the accretion column to nearly 2,000 miles above the star's surface.
  • The data indicate that some observed X-rays likely scattered off the white dwarf's surface before reaching Earth.
  • IXPE observed the system for nearly a week in 2024, and an MIT-led team has published the results in the Astrophysical Journal.
  • The NASA–Italian Space Agency mission demonstrates a technique that can clarify the geometry of other accreting compact binaries.