Transient behavior of three SU UMa-type dwarf novae; AR Pic, QW Ser and V521 Peg

TL;DR

This study investigates the supercycle lengths of three SU UMa-type dwarf novae through optical observations and archival data, revealing potential links between supercycle times, orbital periods, and mass transfer rates as systems evolve.

Contribution

It provides new observational data on AR Pic, QW Ser, and V521 Peg, and proposes a possible relationship between supercycle times and orbital periods in SU UMa systems.

Findings

All three sources are typical SU UMa-type dwarf novae.

Possible correlation between supercycle time and orbital period.

Scaleheight between secondary's photosphere and L1 may distinguish subclasses.

Abstract

Changes in the supercycle lengths of some SU UMa-type dwarf novae have been detected by other studies, and indicate that the mass transfer rates noticeably decrease over time. We investigated the supercycle lengths of three SU UMa-type dwarf novae: AR Pic, QW Ser and V521 Peg, to determine if they have detectable changes in their supercycles. We present the results of optical spectroscopic and photometric observations of these sources. Our observations were conducted in 2016 and 2017 at the Boyden Observatory and the Sutherland station of the South African Astronomical Observatory. The quiescent results indicated that all three sources are typical SU UMa-type dwarf novae. We also present results of AR Pic and QW Ser in outburst and of V521 Peg during a precursor outburst and superoutburst. Light curves were supplemented by the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, the ASAS-3 and ASAS-SN archives, and the AAVSO International database in order to investigate the long-term behavior of these sources. Our results combined with catalogued properties for all short-period dwarf novae, shows a possible relationship between the supercycle time in SU UMa systems and their orbital periods, which is interpreted as the decline in the mass transfer rate as systems evolve toward and away from the 'period minimum'. At the shortest orbital periods, SU UMa systems are almost indistinguishable from WZ Sge systems. However, we propose that the scaleheight between the secondary's photosphere and L1 may be a factor that distinguish the SU UMa subclasses.