Extensive photometry of the intermediate polar MU Cam: detection of a spin period change

TL;DR

This study presents extensive photometric observations of MU Cam, measuring its spin period change over years, revealing an unstable spin-up rate, and analyzing pulse profile variations related to accretion processes.

Contribution

First precise measurement of MU Cam's spin period change over several years, highlighting its unstable spin-up rate and detailed pulse profile analysis.

Findings

Detected a spin period change rate of -(2.17±0.10)×10^(-10)

Observed significant pulse profile variations with brightness changes

Confirmed long-term stability of the spin pulse profile

Abstract

Intermediate polars with known rates of spin period changes are not numerous because such tasks require measurements performed for a long time. To measure a spin period change, MU Cam is a good candidate because it has a spin oscillation with a large amplitude enabling measurements with high precision. Fortunately, in the past the spin period of MU Cam was measured with high precision. To measure the spin period anew, in 2014-2015 we performed extensive photometric observations of MU Cam, spanning a total duration of 208 h within 46 nights. We found that the spin, sideband and orbital periods are equal to 1187.16245+/-0.00047 s, 1276.3424+/-0.0022 s and 4.71942+/-0.00016 h, respectively. Comparing the measured spin period with the spin period of MU Cam in the past, we detected the spin period change with dP/dt=-(2.17+/-0.10) X 10^(-10). This rate of the spin period change was not stable and varied in a time scale of years. During four nights in 2014 April-May MU Cam was fainter than usual by 0.8 mag, and the amplitude of the sideband oscillation was five times larger, denoting significant fraction of disc-overflow accretion. The sideband oscillation showed a double-peaked pulse profile in the normal brightness state. When the star brightness was decreased by 0.8 mag, the sideband oscillation showed a single-peaked pulse profile. In contrast, the spin pulse, which was quasi-sinusoidal, remained remarkably stable both in profile and in amplitude. Moreover, the spin pulse was also remarkably stable in a time scale of years and even decades. MU Cam is of great interest because it represents a distinctive object with a large and unstable rate of the spin period change and exhibits a distinctive behaviour of the pulse profiles.