Non-radial pulsation, rotation and outburst in the Be star omega Orionis from the MuSiCoS 1998 campaign

w Ori (HD 37490, HR 1934) is a Be star known to have presented variations. In order to investigate the nature and origin of its short-term and mid-term variability, a study is performed of several spectral lines (Ha, Hδ, HeI 4471, 4713, 4921, 5876, 6678, CII 4267, 6578, 6583, MgII 4481, SiIII 4553 and Sill 6347), based on 249 high signal-to-noise high-resolution spectra taken with 8 telescopes over 22 consecutive nights during the MuSiCoS (Multi Site Continuous Spectroscopy) campaign in November-December 1998. The stellar parameters are revisited and the projected rotational velocity (v sin i = 179 kms - 1 ) is redetermined using several methods. With the MuSiCoS 98 dataset, a time series analysis of line-profile variations (LPVs) is performed using the Restricted Local Cleanest (RLC) algorithm and a least squares method. The behaviour of the velocity of the centroid of the lines, the equivalent widths and the apparent vsini for several lines, as well as Violet and Red components of photospheric lines affected by emission (red He I lines, Sill 6347, CII 6578, 6583) are analyzed. The non-radial pulsation (NRP) model is examined using phase diagrams and the Fourier-Doppler Imaging (FDI) method. The LPVs are consistent with a NRP mode with l = 2 or 3, ‖m‖ = 2 with frequency 1.03 cd - 1 . It is shown that an emission line outburst occurred in the middle of the campaign. Two scenarios are proposed to explain the behaviour of a dense cloud, temporarily orbiting around the star with a frequency 0.46 cd - 1 , in relation to the outburst.