Abrupt light changes and multiperiodicity in Be stars: EW Lacertae revisited

The combined 1983 campaign and Seoul data on the variable Be star EW Lac is reanalyzed. CLEANing of the Fourier transform of the present time series clearly shows more than a single period. A multiperiodic fit can account also for a sudden brightness change through frequency beating. Comparison with previous multiperiodic solutions based on data obtained in different seasons shows highly variable amplitudes of the pulsational frequencies. The consequence of this finding to variable shell activity of EW Lac is briefly pointed out.