A transient radio jet in an erupting dwarf nova

TL;DR

This paper reports the first detection of a transient radio jet in a dwarf nova during outburst, indicating that disc/jet coupling mechanisms are common across different accreting systems.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of a transient jet in a dwarf nova, extending the universality of disc/jet coupling to cataclysmic variables.

Findings

Detected variable flat-spectrum radio emission in a dwarf nova during outburst

Radio emission is consistent with synchrotron emission from a transient jet

Jet power and behavior are similar to those in X-ray binaries

Abstract

Astrophysical jets seem to occur in nearly all types of accreting objects: from supermassive black holes to young stellar objects. Based on X-ray binaries, a unified scenario describing the disc/jet coupling has evolved and extended to many accreting objects. The only major exceptions are thought to be cataclysmic variables: Dwarf novae, weakly accreting white dwarfs, show similar outburst behaviour as X-ray binaries but no jet has yet been detected. Here we present radio observations of a dwarf nova in outburst showing variable flat-spectrum radio emission that is best explained as synchrotron emission originating in a transient jet. Both the inferred jet power and the relation to the outburst cycle are analogous to those seen in X-ray binaries, suggesting that the disc/jet coupling mechanism is ubiquitous.