ULTRACAM observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators

TL;DR

This study presents high time-resolution observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators, revealing pulsation modes, their color dependence, and effects of dwarf nova outbursts on pulsation detectability, with implications for accretion dynamics.

Contribution

First detailed multi-epoch observations of pulsating white dwarfs during and after dwarf nova outbursts, including detection of new periodicities and analysis of accretion-related luminosity modulations.

Findings

Detection of known pulsation modes in quiescent states

Identification of additional low-amplitude periodicities in SDSS 1610

Observation of a 2.1-hour accretion-related luminosity modulation

Abstract

In this paper we present high time-resolution observations of GW Librae and SDSS J161033.64-010223.3 -- two cataclysmic variables which have shown periodic variations attributed to non-radial pulsations of the white dwarf. We observed both these systems in their quiescent states and detect the strong pulsations modes reported by previous authors. The identification of further periodicities in GW Lib is limited by the accretion-driven flickering of the source, but in the case of SDSS 1610 we identify several additional low-amplitude periodicities. In the case of SDSS 1610, there is evidence to suggest that the two primary signals have a different colour dependence, suggesting that they may be different spherical harmonic modes. We additionally observed GW Lib during several epochs following its 2007 dwarf nova outburst: the first time a dwarf nova containing a pulsating white dwarf has been observed in such a state. We do not observe any periodicities, suggesting that the heating of the white dwarf had either switched-off the pulsations entirely, or reduced their relative amplitude in flux to the point where they are undetectable. Further observations eleven months after the outburst still do not show the pulsation modes previously observed, but do show the emergence of two new periodic signals. In addition to the WD pulsations, our observations of GW Lib in quiescence show a larger-amplitude modulation in luminosity with a period of approximately 2.1 hours. This has been previously observed, and its origin is unclear: it is unrelated to the orbital period. We find this modulation to vary over the course of our observations in phase and/or period. Our data support the conclusion that this is an accretion-related phenomenon which originates in the accretion disc.