Five New Outbursting AM CVn Systems Discovered by the Palomar Transient Factory

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of five new outbursting AM CVn systems and one candidate through a large-area photometric variability survey using the Palomar Transient Factory, marking a systematic approach to finding such systems.

Contribution

It introduces the first large-scale, systematic search for AM CVn systems based solely on large-amplitude photometric variability.

Findings

Discovered five new outbursting AM CVn systems and one candidate.

Compared colour properties of new systems with known systems, finding no significant differences.

Identified orbital periods for two of the systems.

Abstract

We present five new outbursting AM CVn systems and one candidate discovered as part of an ongoing search for such systems using the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). This is the first large-area, systematic search for AM CVn systems using only large-amplitude photometric variability to select candidates. Three of the confirmed systems and the candidate system were discovered as part of the PTF transient search. Two systems were found as part of a search for outbursts through the PTF photometric database. We discuss the observed characteristics of each of these systems, including the orbital periods of two systems. We also consider the position of these systems, selected in a colour-independent survey, in colour-colour space and compare to systems selected solely by their colours. We find that the colours of our newly discovered systems do not differ significantly from those of previously known systems, but significant errors preclude a definitive answer.