The Variable X-ray Emission of the Cataclysmic Variable V1460 Her with a Rapidly Rotating White Dwarf

Abstract

Using a recent Chandra ACIS observation of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable (CV) V1460 Her (2MASS J16211735+4412541) with a fast-rotating ($P_{\rm spin} = 38.9$~s) white dwarf, we estimated a flux $F_{0.5-7 {\rm keV}}^{\rm abs} = (1.9\pm 0.5)\times 10^{-14}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, a factor of $\sim7$ lower than found from previous Swift XRT observations $\approx8$ years ago, when the CV was quiescent. The drop in the flux suggests a corresponding drop in the accretion rate, and the resulting intrinsic luminosity $L_{0.5-7 {\rm keV}} \sim 1.6\times 10^{29}$ erg s$^{-1}$ places V1460 Her among the lowest-luminosity magnetic CVs known, in a state of very low accretion.