1999/01/25 by L. Morales-Rueda, Morales-Rueda, L., M. D. Still +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9901344
6 pages, 2 figures. To appear in ASP Conf. Ser. Vol. 157; LaTeX, uses paspconf.sty
arxiv created 1999/01/25 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
GK Persei is an intermediate polar that exhibits a dwarf nova outburst approximately every 1000 days. During previous outbursts the system has displayed kilo-second quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in X-ray emission. These oscillations are unique in that they are an order of magnitude longer than QPOs usually observed in disc-fed cataclysmic variables. We have detected the optical counterpart of these QPOs in spectrophotometry collected during the 1996 outburst. The presence of these QPOs in Doppler-broadened emission lines originating from the highly-supersonic accretion flow enables us to place useful constraints on the location of the QPO source and its formation mechanism.