2008/02/29 by A. W. Shafter, J. R. A. Davenport, T. Güth +3 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Amplitude #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Light curve #Orbital period #Photometry (optics) #Polar #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Swift #Wavelength #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/588268
published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 120(866), 374-379 (Institute of Physics) · 15 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in the April 2008 PASP
arxiv created 2008/02/29 · openalex publication_date 2008/04/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Time-resolved CCD photometry is presented of the V ∼ 17 optical counterpart of the newly discovered hard-X-ray–emitting polar Swift J2619.4+2619. A total of ∼20 hr of data obtained over five nights in various bandpasses ( B , V , R , and I ) reveals a strong quasi-sinusoidal modulation in the light curve at a best-fitting period of 0.1254 days (3.01 hr), which we associate with the orbital period of the system (one-day aliases of this period at 0.1114 days and 0.1435 days are considered, but appear to be ruled out by our analysis). The amplitude of the modulation increases with wavelength from in B to ∼1.1 mag in R and I . The increase in amplitude with wavelength is typical of polar systems where the modulated radiation comes from cyclotron emission. The combination of the relatively long orbital period and the emission of hard X-rays suggest that Swift J2619.4+2619 may be a good candidate for an asynchronous polar system.