The Photometric Periods of the Nova-Like Cataclysmic Variable LQ Pegasi (PG 2133+115)

TL;DR

This study identifies multiple periodicities in the nova-like star LQ Peg, interpreting them as accretion disk phenomena, and reports a significant stellar flare, providing insights into the star's behavior and properties.

Contribution

First time identification of apsidal and nodal precessional periods in LQ Peg, along with a detailed analysis of its flare activity and system parameters.

Findings

Discovered three periodicities: 3.42h, 56.8h, and 41.3h.

Predicted the orbital period to be 3.22h.

Detected a powerful stellar flare with 10^36 ergs energy.

Abstract

We present a time-resolved differential photometric study and time series analysis of the nova-like cataclysmic variable star LQ Peg. We discover three periodicities in the photometry, one with a period of 3.42 +/- 0.03 hours, and another with a period of 56.8 +/- 0.01 hours. We interpret these to be the apsidal superhump and precessional periods of the accretion disk, respectively, and predict that the orbital period of LQ Peg is 3.22 +/- 0.03 hours. The third periodicity, with a period of 41.3 +/- 0.01 hours, we interpret to be the nodal precessional period of the accretion disk. We also report a flare that lasted four minutes and had an energy in visible light of (1.2 +/- 0.3) x 10^36 ergs, or 10^4-5 times more energetic than the largest solar flares, comparable to the most energetic visible-light stellar flares known. We calculate the absolute magnitude of LQ Peg to be M_J = 4.78 +/- 0.54, and its distance to be 800 +/- 200 pc.