SDSS J123813.73-033933.0, a cataclysmic variable evolved beyond the period minimum
A. Aviles, S. Zharikov, G. Tovmassian, R. Michel, M. Tapia, M. Roth,, V. Neustroev, C. Zurita, M. Andreev, A. Sergeev, E. Pavlenko, V. Tsymbal,, G.C. Anupama, U.S. Kamath, D.K. Sahu

TL;DR
This study characterizes the evolved cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73-033933.0, revealing a likely brown dwarf companion, spiral arm accretion disk features, and cyclical brightenings with a ~9.3-hour recurrence, indicating a bounce-back system.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed analysis of SDSS J123813.73-033933.0 as a bounce-back CV with spiral disk structures and cyclical brightenings, expanding understanding of post-period minimum evolution.
Findings
System likely contains a massive white dwarf and an L4 brown dwarf.
Brightenings recur approximately every 9.3 hours but are not strictly periodic.
Doppler mapping reveals spiral arms at the 2:1 resonance radius.
Abstract
We present infrared JHK photometry of the cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73-033933.0 (SDSS1238)and analyze it along with optical spectroscopy, demonstrating that the binary system is most probably comprised of a massive white dwarf with Teff=12000+/-1000 K and a brown dwarf of spectral type L4. The inferred system parameters suggest that this system may have evolved beyond the orbital period minimum and is a bounce-back system. SDSS1238 stands out among CVs by exhibiting the cyclical variability (brightenings). These are not related to specific orbital phases of the binary system and are fainter than dwarf novae outbursts, that usually occur on longer timescales. This phenomenon has not been observed extensively and, thus, is poor understood. The new time-resolved, multi-longitude photometric observations of SDSS1238 allowed us to observe two consecutive brightenings and to determine…
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