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An H?-selected sample of cataclysmic variables – I. Observations of newly discovered systems

An H?-selected sample of cataclysmic variables – I. Observations of newly discovered systems
An H?-selected sample of cataclysmic variables – I. Observations of newly discovered systems
Strong selection effects are present in observational samples of cataclysmic variables (CVs), complicating comparisons to theoretical predictions. The selection criteria used to define most CV samples discriminate heavily against the discovery of short-period, intrinsically faint systems. The situation can be improved by selecting CVs for the presence of emission lines. For this reason, we have constructed a homogeneous sample of CVs selected on the basis of H? emission. We present discovery observations of the 14 CVs and two additional CV candidates found in this search. The orbital periods of 11 of the new CVs were measured; all are above 3 h. There are two eclipsing systems in the sample, and one in which we observed a quasi-periodic modulation on a ?1000 s time-scale. We also detect the secondary star in the spectrum of one system, and measure its spectral type. Several of the new CVs have the spectroscopic appearance of nova-like variables, and a few display what may be SW Sex star behaviour. In a companion paper, we discuss the implications of this new sample for CV evolution.
binaries: general, stars: dwarf novae, novae, cataclysmic variables
1365-2966
1471-1484
Pretorius, Magaretha L.
cbc31524-c901-4032-b228-41fb2e5d7dd8
Knigge, Christian
ac320eec-631a-426e-b2db-717c8bf7857e
Pretorius, Magaretha L.
cbc31524-c901-4032-b228-41fb2e5d7dd8
Knigge, Christian
ac320eec-631a-426e-b2db-717c8bf7857e

Pretorius, Magaretha L. and Knigge, Christian (2008) An H?-selected sample of cataclysmic variables – I. Observations of newly discovered systems. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 385 (3), 1471-1484. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12933.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Strong selection effects are present in observational samples of cataclysmic variables (CVs), complicating comparisons to theoretical predictions. The selection criteria used to define most CV samples discriminate heavily against the discovery of short-period, intrinsically faint systems. The situation can be improved by selecting CVs for the presence of emission lines. For this reason, we have constructed a homogeneous sample of CVs selected on the basis of H? emission. We present discovery observations of the 14 CVs and two additional CV candidates found in this search. The orbital periods of 11 of the new CVs were measured; all are above 3 h. There are two eclipsing systems in the sample, and one in which we observed a quasi-periodic modulation on a ?1000 s time-scale. We also detect the secondary star in the spectrum of one system, and measure its spectral type. Several of the new CVs have the spectroscopic appearance of nova-like variables, and a few display what may be SW Sex star behaviour. In a companion paper, we discuss the implications of this new sample for CV evolution.

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Published date: April 2008
Keywords: binaries: general, stars: dwarf novae, novae, cataclysmic variables

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 144221
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/144221
ISSN: 1365-2966
PURE UUID: 7fa278f1-3add-4267-8c53-c3c93ee79f55

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Date deposited: 16 Apr 2010 15:28
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:45

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Author: Magaretha L. Pretorius

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