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Paper: Detection of circumbinary material in the galactic supersoft X-ray binary QR And
Volume: 261, The Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects
Page: 641
Authors: Kuduz, M.; Reinsch, K.; Beuermann, K.; Kube, J.
Abstract: In an attempt to solve the long-standing quest for the nature of the secondary star in supersoft X-ray binaries, we have obtained phase-resolved high-S/N optical-near-IR spectroscopy and high-resolution near-UV Echelle spectra of the bright galactic supersoft X-ray binary QR And (= RX J0019.8+2156). From the absence of any stellar absorption features in these data we derive a minimum distance d >~800-1300 pc of the binary system. Besides emission lines showing Doppler shifts with the binary orbit, we have detected several broad stationary emission lines which have been identified as forbidden ``coronal-like'' transitions of Fe X, O V, and N V. The material emitting these lines must be distributed axially symmetrically around the binary center of gravity, probably forming an optically thin envelope or a torus surrounding the binary system.
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