V498 Hya, a new candidate for a period bouncer Cataclysmic Variable

TL;DR

This paper presents detailed spectroscopic analysis of V498 Hya, a short-period cataclysmic variable likely to be a period bouncer, providing new insights into its system parameters and evolutionary status.

Contribution

The study offers the first spectroscopic confirmation of V498 Hya's period and system parameters, identifying it as a rare period bouncer CV.

Findings

Spectroscopic period of 86.053 minutes was derived.

White dwarf mass is > 0.82 solar masses.

Donor star mass estimated at 0.043 solar masses.

Abstract

V498 Hya (SDSS J084555.07+033929.2) was identified as a short-period cataclysmic variable (CV) by the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS) in 2008. The superhump period was measured during the detected single superoutburst of V498 Hya. The quiescent spectrum subsequently taken by the \SDSSV\ Milky Way Mapper survey suggested that the CV donor may be a brown dwarf. We present time-resolved follow-up spectroscopy of V498 Hya in quiescence, obtained with the GTC OSIRIS spectrograph, from which we derived the 86.053 min spectroscopic period, systemic radial velocity, and the gravitational redshift of the Mg II line. We also modeled the spectral energy distribution to constrain the system parameters, including the > 0.82 Ms mass of the white dwarf and the best-fit value 0.043 +/- 0.004 Ms of the donor star mass. This combination of parameters implies that V498 Hya has evolved past the period minimum and is a relatively rare ``period bouncer''.