2008/01/07 by M. L. Pretorius, Magaretha L. Pretorius, C. Knigge +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Cataclysmic variable star #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Homogeneous #Orbital period #Physics #Sample (material) #Scale (ratio) #Stars #Statistical physics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #White dwarf #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12933.x
15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
arxiv created 2008/01/07 · openalex publication_date 2008/02/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Strong selection effects are present in observational samples of cataclysmic variables (CVs), complicating comparisons to theoretical predictions. The selection criteria used to define most CV samples discriminate heavily against the discovery of short-period, intrinsically faint systems. The situation can be improved by selecting CVs for the presence of emission lines. For this reason, we have constructed a homogeneous sample of CVs selected on the basis of Hα emission. We present discovery observations of the 14 CVs and two additional CV candidates found in this search. The orbital periods of 11 of the new CVs were measured; all are above 3 h. There are two eclipsing systems in the sample, and one in which we observed a quasi-periodic modulation on a ∼1000 s time-scale. We also detect the secondary star in the spectrum of one system, and measure its spectral type. Several of the new CVs have the spectroscopic appearance of nova-like variables, and a few display what may be SW Sex star behaviour. In a companion paper, we discuss the implications of this new sample for CV evolution.