1998/03/01 by Benjamin D. Oppenheimer, Scott J. Kenyon, Janet A. Mattei +1
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/300250
We analyze the AAVSO light curve for the cataclysmic variable Z Camelopardalis. The light curve includes 51,086 observations over 67 years. We classify outbursts into three main categories—common, plateau, and anomalous—based on the shape and duration of the outburst. Plateau outbursts are brighter and last longer than common outbursts. Some outbursts end in standstills in which the brightness stays constant roughly 1 mag below maximum light for a few days to 1000 days. The average energy output in a standstill is larger than that during an outburst cycle. All outbursts follow a pattern, the plateau outburst cycle, in which one or more common or anomalous outbursts occur between two plateau outbursts or a plateau outburst and a standstill. Short quiescent durations lead to a higher outburst frequency and more energetic outbursts in intervals dominated by standstills than in other light-curve intervals.