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The cataclysmic variable SDSS J214354.59+124457.8 (hereafter SDSS J214354) was observed photometrically on sixty one nights between 2012 July 28 and 2019 May 26. The long term variation of this object shows changes between two phases; a dwarf nova type and a novalike. This implies that the object belongs to the group of Z Cam type stars. The timing analysis of the light curve reveals a periodic signal at 0.13902(5) d, which we identify as the superhump period. However, the fractional superhump excess of 10 per cent longer than the orbital period is exceptionally large. We obtained a mass ratio of ∼0.4, which is above the accepted upper limit of q = 0.33 for the formation of superhumps. We suggest that the object contains a secondary with an evolved core. With an orbital period of 0.126 d, SDSS J214354 is situated at the upper border of the period gap. The long term light curve of SDSS J214354 is similar to those of Z Cam type stars which are characterized by recurring standstills, followed by short intervals with DN type outbursts. Therefore, we conclude that SDSS J214354 is a new member of the Z Cam type stars.

arXiv:1607.06195v1.-- et al., How black holes accrete surrounding matter is a fundamental yet unsolved question in astrophysics. It is generally believed that matter is absorbed into black holes via accretion disks, the state of which depends primarily on the mass-accretion rate. When this rate approaches the critical rate (the Eddington limit), thermal instability is supposed to occur in the inner disk, causing repetitive patterns of large-amplitude X-ray variability (oscillations) on timescales of minutes to hours. In fact, such oscillations have been observed only in sources with a high mass-accretion rate, such as GRS 1915+105 (refs 2, 3). These large-amplitude, relatively slow timescale, phenomena are thought to have physical origins distinct from those of X-ray or optical variations with small amplitudes and fast timescales (less than about 10 seconds) often observed in other black-hole binaries - for example, XTE J1118+480 (ref. 4) and GX 339â '4 (ref. 5). Here we report an extensive multi-colour optical photometric data set of V404 Cygni, an X-ray transient source containing a black hole of nine solar masses (and a companion star) at a distance of 2.4 kiloparsecs (ref. 8). Our data show that optical oscillations on timescales of 100 seconds to 2.5 hours can occur at mass-accretion rates more than ten times lower than previously thought. This suggests that the accretion rate is not the critical parameter for inducing inner-disk instabilities. Instead, we propose that a long orbital period is a key condition for these large-amplitude oscillations, because the outer part of the large disk in binaries with long orbital periods will have surface densities too low to maintain sustained mass accretion to the inner part of the disk. The lack of sustained accretion - not the actual rate - would then be the critical factor causing large-amplitude oscillations in long-period systems., A.S.P., E.D.M. and A.A.V. are grateful to the Russian Science Foundation (grant 15-12- 30016) for support. This work was supported by the Grant-in-Aid “Initiative for High-Dimensional Data-Driven Science through Deepening of Sparse Modeling” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan (25120007 TK and 26400228 YU).

We have used two methods to search for surviving companions of Type Ia supernova progenitors in three Balmer-dominated supernova remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud: 0519–69.0, 0505–67.9 (DEM L71), and 0548–70.4. In the first method, we use the Hubble Space Telescope photometric measurements of stars to construct color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and compare positions of stars in the CMDs with those expected from theoretical post-impact evolution of surviving main-sequence or helium star companions. No obvious candidates of surviving companions are identified in this photometric search. Future models for surviving red giant companions or with different explosion mechanisms are needed for thorough comparisons with these observations in order to make more definitive conclusions. In the second method, we use Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer observations of 0519–69.0 and DEM L71 to carry out spectroscopic analyses of stars in order to use large peculiar radial velocities as diagnostics of surviving companions. We find a star in 0519–69.0 and a star in DEM L71 moving at radial velocities of 182 ± 0 km s−1 and 213 ± 0 km s−1, respectively, more than 2.5σ from the mean radial velocity of the underlying stellar population, 264 and 270 km s−1, respectively. These stars need higher-quality spectra to investigate their abundances and rotation velocities to determine whether they are indeed surviving companions of the supernova progenitors.

There are several peculiar long-period dwarf-nova like objects, which show rare, low-amplitude outbursts with highly ionized emission lines. 1SWASP J162117$+$441254, BD Pav, and V364 Lib belong to this kind of objects. Some researchers even doubt whether 1SWASP J1621 and V364 Lib have the same nature as normal dwarf novae. We studied the peculiar outbursts in these three objects via our optical photometry and spectroscopy, and performed numerical modeling of their orbital variations to investigate their properties. We found that their outbursts lasted for a long interval (a few tens of days), and that slow rises in brightness were commonly observed during the early stage of their outbursts. Our analyses and numerical modeling suggest that 1SWASP J1621 has a very high inclination, close to 90 deg, plus a faint hot spot. Although BD Pav seems to have a slightly lower inclination ($\sim$75 deg), the other properties are similar to those in 1SWASP J1621. On the other hand, V364 Lib appears to have a massive white dwarf, a hot companion star, and a low inclination ($\sim$35 deg). In addition, these three objects possibly have low transfer rate and/or large disks originating from the long orbital periods. We find that these properties of the three objects can explain their infrequent and low-amplitude outbursts within the context of the disk instability model in normal dwarf novae without strong magnetic field. In addition, we suggest that the highly-ionized emission lines in outburst are observed due to a high inclination and/or a massive white dwarf. More instances of this class of object may be unrecognized, since their unremarkable outbursts can be easily overlooked., Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables with supporting information. Accepted for publication in PASJ

We present the time series analysis of CCD photometry from ``EAST'' Zeiss-1000 telescope at Tien-Shan Astronomical Observatory (Almaty, Kazakhstan) for GSC 02505-00411. GSC 02505-00411 is a new multi-frequency delta Scuti variable with a primary frequency of 43.84 c/d.

Results are presented from photometric studies of the dwarf nova V1108 Her conducted at the primary focus of the 2.6-m G. A. Shajn Telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory during June-July 2008, 4 years after the 2004 outburst. An orbital period of 0.05672(4) days is found for the system. An analysis of observations made earlier during the 2004 outburst reveals an orbital signal which indicates that V1108 Her is an eclipsing system. The mass ratio of the secondary component to the white dwarf is estimated to be q = 0.068, which makes it highly likely that the secondary component of this system is a brown dwarf. The orbital light curves indicate a complex structure for the accretion disk whose radius has reached a 2:1 resonance. An explanation is suggested for a quasi-periodic modulation in the brightness at 1/4 of the orbital period observed in V1108 Her and other WZ Sge systems.

We systematically surveyed period variations of superhumps in SU UMa-type dwarf novae based on newly obtained data and past publications. In many systems, the evolution of superhump period are found to be composed of three distinct stages: early evolutionary stage with a longer superhump period, middle stage with systematically varying periods, final stage with a shorter, stable superhump period. During the middle stage, many systems with superhump periods less than 0.08 d show positive period derivatives. Contrary to the earlier claim, we found no clear evidence for variation of period derivatives between superoutburst of the same object. We present an interpretation that the lengthening of the superhump period is a result of outward propagation of the eccentricity wave and is limited by the radius near the tidal truncation. We interpret that late stage superhumps are rejuvenized excitation of 3:1 resonance when the superhumps in the outer disk is effectively quenched. Many of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae showed long-enduring superhumps during the post-superoutburst stage having periods longer than those during the main superoutburst. The period derivatives in WZ Sge-type dwarf novae are found to be strongly correlated with the fractional superhump excess, or consequently, mass ratio. WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with a long-lasting rebrightening or with multiple rebrightenings tend to have smaller period derivatives and are excellent candidate for the systems around or after the period minimum of evolution of cataclysmic variables (abridged)., Comment: 239 pages, 225 figures, PASJ accepted

We present near-infrared spectra for five dwarf novae with short orbital periods. We performed fittings of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) by assuming a power-law distribution for the accretion disk and using template spectra of late-type dwarfs for the secondary star. Two are WZ Sgeor WX Cet-type stars, whose spectra show water absorption features, and one of them shows K I and Na I absorption lines in the J -band. We find that the secondary contributions to the overall SED are larger in WZ Sge stars than in ER UMa stars. The SED fitting suggests M9 and L1 type dwarf companions for our WZ Sge systems, and an M2 dwarf for our ER UMa star. We discuss the direct relationship between the high temperatures of secondary stars and high mass-transfer rates in ER UMa stars. SDSS J013701.06–091234.9 is the only object showing a spectrum dominated by the secondary component. The spectrum strongly suggests that the evolutionary path of SDSS J013701.06–091234.9 is different from that of ordinary CVs, and this object is a candidate of EI Psc-like systems.

We report on the time-resolved CCD photometry of a newly discovered variable star, TSS J022216.4+412259.9 during an outburst in a 2005 November–December brightening. The obtained light curves unambiguously show 0.2–0.3mag modulations, which we confirmed to be the superhump observed among SU UMa-type dwarf novae. We also performed a period search for data obtained during the outburst plateau phase, and revealed the existence of the two periodicities: 0.054868(98)d for thefirst two nights and 0.055544(26)d for the following plateau phase. This bi-periodicity is hardly observed in the usual SU UMa-type dwarf novae, but is characteristic of WZ Sge-type stars. We undoubtedly detected a rebrightening in the post-outburst stage, which is typical of short-period SU UMa-type dwarf novae, including WZ Sge-type stars. These observations suggest that TSS J022216.4+412259.9 may be a new WZ Sge star breaking the shortest superhump period so far of 0.05648d for V592 Her among this class with a known superhump period.

We present the results of J-, H-, and K-band spectroscopy on three SU UMa-type dwarf novae with orbital periods of 1.33 – 1.37 hr. We performed the SED fitting for the obtained spectra by assuming a power-law distribution for the accretion disk and using template spectra of late-type dwarfs for secondary star. ASAS 002511+1217.2 and EQ J183926+260409 are WZ Sge-type or WX Cet-type dwarf novae. We found strong water absorption features in their spectra, which are characteristic in late M- or L-type dwarfs. The SED fitting suggests that their secondary contributions to the overall SED are less than one third. We identified the secondary stars as M9 and L1 type dwarfs, which are rather less massive but still normal stars. The spectrum of SDSS J013701−091235 is dominated by the secondary component. Spectral features of this object are similar to those of an early M-type dwarf in spite of its short orbital period. The spectrum of SDSS 0137 strongly suggests that the evolutionary path of this object is different from that of ordinary CVs, and this object is a candidate of EI Psc-like systems.

After 10 years of quiescence, HV Vir underwent a superoutburst in January 2002. We report time-series observations clearly revealing the period change of ordinary superhumps during the superoutburst. We derived a mean superhump period of 0.058260 d and a positive period derivative of $7 \times 10^{-5}$. These results are in good agreement with the value obtained from the 1992 superoutburst. We also detected early superhumps, which were not clearly recognized in the past outburst, and a possible rebrightening. Both of them are the common characteristics of WZ Sge-type stars., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ

We report on time-series photometric observations in the earliest stages of superoutbursts of the extreme dwarf novae, AL Com and WZ Sge, which started on 2001 May after the 6 years quiescence and on 2001 July after the 23 years quiescence, respectively. We detected growth of ``early superhumps'' during the each rising stage. Our observations reject the mass transfer instability for the trigger of the superoutburst of WZ Sge stars, and show the existence of some relations between the ``early superhumps'' and the spiral structure, which give a hint of the origin of the ``early superhumps.'', 4 pages, 4 figures, A&A macro in latex format, accepted to A&A letters

We have kept optical monitoring of a peculiar black hole X-ray binary, V4641 Sgr. Based on our observations, we show that its unprecedented activity can be divided into 5 phases. In this paper, we report their observational properties.