Aperiodic optical variability of intermediate polars - cataclysmic variables with truncated accretion disks

Abstract

We study the power spectra of the variability of seven intermediate polars containing magnetized asynchronous accreting white dwarfs, XSS J00564_s164548,IGR J00234_s166141, DO Dra, V1223 Sgr, IGR J15094-6649, IGR J16500-3307 and IGR J17195-4100, in the optical band and demonstrate that their variability can be well described by a model based on fluctuations propagating in a truncated accretion disk. The power spectra have breaks at Fourier frequencies, which we associate with the Keplerian frequency of the disk at the boundary of the white dwarfs_s14 magnetospheres. We propose that the properties of the optical power spectra can be used to deduce the geometry of the inner parts of the accretion disk, in particular: 1) truncation radii of the magnetically disrupted accretion disks in intermediate polars, 2) the truncation radii of the accretion disk in quiescent states of dwarf novae