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RAT J1953+1859: a dwarf nova discovered through high amplitude QPOs in quiescence |
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| Authors: | Gavin Ramsay Pasi Hakala Thomas Barclay Peter Wheatley George Marshall Harry Lehto Ralf Napiwotzki Gijs Nelemans Stephen Potter Ian Todd |
| Institution: | Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG;Tuorla Observatory, University of Turku, Väisäläntie 20, FIN-21500 Piikkiö, Finland;Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT;Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL;Centre for Astrophysics Research, STRI, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB;Department of Astrophysics, IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9010, NL-6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands;South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9, Observatory 7935, Cape Town, South Africa;Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN |
| Abstract: | We report the discovery of an accreting binary, RAT J1953+1859, made during the RApid Temporal Survey (RATS) on the Isaac Newton Telescope. It showed high amplitude (0.3 mag) quasi-periodic oscillations on a time-scale of ～20 min. Further observations made using the Nordic Optical Telescope showed it to be ～4 mag brighter than in the discovery images. These photometric observations, together with radial velocity data taken using the William Herschel Telescope, point to an orbital period of ～90 min. These data suggest that RAT J1953+1859 is a dwarf novae of the SU UMa type. What makes RAT J1953+1859 unusual is that it is the first such system to be discovered as a result of high amplitude QPOs during quiescence. This suggests that high-cadence wide-field surveys could be another means to discover cataclysmic variables as a result of their short period variability. |
| Keywords: | accretion accretion discs techniques: photometric surveys novae cataclysmic variables stars: oscillations X-rays: binaries |