RXTE Observations of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables

Abstract

Results from hard X-ray observations with RXTE of 5 Polar systems-V2301 Oph, V1432 Aql, EP Dra, GG Leo and V834 Cen, and an Intermediate Polar TV Col are presented. An improved ephemeris for V2301 Oph using mid-eclipse timings has been derived. V1432 Aql shows structured lightcurve containing several prominent peaks and dips. A likely eclipse of X-ray source in EP Dra is observed for the first time. The X-ray emission in EP Dra and GG Leo is found to be consistent with a single pole accretion. V 834 Cen was observed to be bright during 1996-1998, but was 16 times fainter during 2002 observations. The power spectrum of TV Col shows a significant power at frequencies corresponding to the spin period (1910s) and the binary period (5.5hr) and their side-bands, thereby suggesting that both the stream-fed and disk-fed accretion components are present in TV Col.