2008/06/06 by Elmar Körding, Elmar Koerding, Michael Rupen +11 · 144 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Cataclysmic variable star #Dwarf nova #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Jet (fluid) #Physics #Stars #White dwarf #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1155492
published in Science 320(5881), 1318-1320 (American Association for the Advancement of Science) · Published in Science on 6 June 2008, corrected typos
openalex publication_date 2008/06/06 · arxiv created 2008/06/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Astrophysical jets seem to occur in nearly all types of accreting objects, from supermassive black holes to young stellar objects. On the basis of x-ray binaries, a unified scenario describing the disc/jet coupling has evolved and been extended to many accreting objects. The only major exceptions are thought to be cataclysmic variables: Dwarf novae, weakly accreting white dwarfs, show similar outburst behavior to x-ray binaries, but no jet has yet been detected. Here we present radio observations of a dwarf nova in outburst showing variable flat-spectrum radio emission that is best explained as synchrotron emission originating in a transient jet. Both the inferred jet power and the relation to the outburst cycle are analogous to those seen in x-ray binaries, suggesting that the disc/jet coupling mechanism is ubiquitous.