Picture Rocks Observatory
Flickering is a fast variability observed in all accreting systems. It has been shown that in most cataclysmic variables flickering originates in the accretion disc. However, in polars the strong magnetic field of the white dwarf prevents the formation of an accretion disc. Therefore, the origin of flickering in polars is not clear. We analyzed the changes of flickering amplitude with orbital phase in seven polars in order to reveal its site of origin. We show that at least in some polars there are two separate sources of flickering. Moreover, at least one of the sources is located at a large distance from the main source of light in the system.
We analyze 15 years of eclipse timings of the polar V808 Aur. The rapid ingress/egress of the white dwarf and bright accretion region provide timings as precise as a few tenths of a second for rapid cadence photometric data. We find that between 2015 and 2018, the eclipse timings deviated from a linear ephemeris by more than 30 s. The rapid timing change is consistent with the periastron passage of a planet in an eccentric orbit about the polar. The best fit orbital period is 11±1\pm 1 yr and we estimate a projected mass of Msin(i)=6.8±0.7Msin(i)=6.8\pm 0.7 Jupiter masses. We also show that the eclipse timings are correlated with the brightness of the polar with a slope of 1.1 s/mag. This is likely due to the change in the geometry of the accretion curtains as a function of the mass transfer rate in the polar. While an eccentric planet offers an excellent explanation to the available eclipse data for V808 Aur, proposed planetary systems in other eclipsing polars have often struggled to accurately predict future eclipse timings.
UW Coronae Borealis (UW CrB) is a low mass X-ray binary that shows both Type 1 X-ray and optical bursts, which typically last for 20 s. The system has a binary period of close to 2 hours and is thought to have a relatively high inclination due to the presence of an eclipse in the optical light curve. There is also evidence that an asymmetric disc is present in the system, which precesses every 5.5 days based on changes in the depth of the eclipse. In this paper, we present optical photometry and spectroscopy of UW CrB taken over 2 years. We update the orbital ephemeris using observed optical eclipses and refine the orbital period to 110.97680(1) min. A total of 17 new optical bursts are presented, with 10 of these bursts being resolved temporally. The average ee-folding time of 19±319\pm3s for the bursts is consistent with the previously found value. Optical bursts are observed during a previously identified gap in orbital phase centred on ϕ=0.967\phi=0.967, meaning the reprocessing site is not eclipsed as previously thought. Finally, we find that the apparent P-Cygni profiles present in some of the atomic lines in the optical spectra are due to transient absorption.
Polars are highly magnetic cataclysmic variables which have been long observed to have both high and low brightness states. The duration of these states has been previously seen to vary from a number of days up to years. Despite this; these states and their physical origin has not been explained in a consistent manner. We present observations of the shortest duration states of a number of Polars observed by ZTF and TESS. This has allowed us to determine that short duration states are a relatively common feature across the population of Polars. Furthermore we have been able to generalise the model of star spot migration to explain both short lived high and low states in Polars by incorporating the interaction between the magnetic field of the white dwarf and that of the star spots.
We present the result of a multi-longitude campaign on the photometric study of the dwarf nova ASASSN-18fk during its superoutburst in 2018. It was observed with 18 telescopes at 15 sites during ~70 nights within a three-month interval. Observations covered the main outburst, six rebrightenings and 50-d decline to a near-quiescent state. We identify ASASSN-18fk as WZ Sge-type dwarf nova with multiple rebrightenings and show the evolution of the 0.06-d superhump period over all stages of the superoutburst. A strong 22-min brightness modulation that superimposed on superhumps is found during rebrightenings and decline. Some evidence of this modulation in a form of a sideband signal is detected during the very onset of the outburst. We interpret the 22-min modulation as a spin period of the white dwarf and suggest that ASASSN-18fk is a good candidate for a superhumping intermediate polar.
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