Virtual Observatory based identification of AX J194939+2631 as a new cataclysmic variable

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and classification of a new cataclysmic variable star, identified through Virtual Observatory data mining and confirmed by spectroscopic follow-up, highlighting its potential magnetic nature.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining Virtual Observatory data mining with multi-wavelength follow-up to identify and classify a new CV, possibly of magnetic type.

Findings

Identified AX J194939+2631 as a CV candidate using H-alpha emission.

Confirmed the CV nature through spectroscopic analysis showing a double-peaked H-alpha line.

Estimated the system's distance and secondary star type, suggesting a magnetic CV.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a new cataclysmic variable (CV) among unidentified objects from the ASCA Galactic Plane Survey made using the Virtual Observatory data mining. First, we identified AX J194939+2631 with IPHAS J194938.39+263149.2, the only prominent H-alpha emitter among 400 sources in a 1 arcmin field of the IPHAS survey, then secured as a single faint X-ray source found in an archival Chandra dataset. Spectroscopic follow-up with the 3.5-m Calar Alto telescope confirmed its classification as a CV, possibly of magnetic nature. Our analysis suggests that AX J194939+2631 is a medium distance system (d ~ 0.6 kpc) containing a late-K or early-M type dwarf as a secondary component and a partially disrupted accretion disc revealed by the double-peaked H-alpha line. However, additional deep observations are needed to confirm our tentative classification of this object as an intermediate polar.