L67

The Astrophysical Journal, 503:L67L70, 1998 August 10

1998. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
SUPERHUMPS AND ACCRETION DISK PRECESSION IN TT ARIETIS
David R. Skillman,
1
David A. Harvey,
2
Joseph Patterson,
3
Jonathan Kemp,
3
Lasse Jensen,
4
Robert E. Fried,
5
Gordon Garradd,
6
Jerry Gunn,
7
Liza van Zyl,
8
Seiichiro Kiyota,
9
Alon Retter,
10
Tonny Vanmunster,
11
and Paul Warhurst
12
Received 1998 May 27; accepted 1998 June 15; published 1998 July 17
ABSTRACT
We have been conducting a long-term (19881998) photometric study of the nova-like variable TT Arietis.
The main periodic signal in the stars light curve normally occurs at a period that varies but averages 0.1329
days, which is about 3.5% shorter than the orbital period of the binary. In 1997, this signal disappeared and was
replaced by a stronger signal 8.5% longer than the orbital period. This new wave strongly resembles the
superhumps commonly seen in SU UMatype dwarf novae during superoutburst. In superhump parlance, we
could say that a negative superhump was replaced by a positive superhump ( ). This could signify the P 1 P
orb
development of an eccentric instability in the accretion disk. The two superhumps probably signify two types of
disk precession: apsidal advance and nodal regression. TT Ari is an excellent candidate for observational studies
that probe the origin of superhumps.
Subject headings: accretion, accretion disks novae, cataclysmic variables stars: individual (TT Arietis)
1. INTRODUCTION
Normally at magnitude 10.511, TT Arietis is one of the
brightest cataclysmic variables (CVs). Good accounts of early
studies were given by Smak & Stepien (1969, 1975), Shafter
et al. (1985), and Thorstensen, Smak, & Hessman (1985). Pho-
tometry on timescales of minutes to hours has also been ex-
tensively reported (Udalski 1988; Tremko et al. 1996; Kraich-
eva et al. 1997; Andronov et al. 1998). The star is famous for
occasional drops to a low state at V 17, which earn it mem-
bership in the VY Scl class of CVs. The long-term light
curves were discussed by Fuhrmann (1981) and Wenzel et al.
(1992), and spectroscopy at these various states was described
by Shafter et al. (1985).
TT Ari shows a great variety of photometric periods, and
we have been studying these signals intensively since 1988,
with 700 hr of coverage over 200 nights. In the main, our
results are consistent with those previously reported: a 20 min-
ute quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO), and a signal that averages
1
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (East), 9517 Washington Avenue, Lau-
rel, MD 20723; cbaceo@clark.net.
2
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (West), 1552 West Chapala Drive, Tuc-
son, AZ 85703; dharvey@comsoft-telescope.com.
3
Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street,
New York, NY 10027; jop@astro.columbia.edu, jonathan@astro.columbia
.edu.
4
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (Denmark), Sndervej 38, DK-8350
Hundslund, Denmark; teist@image.dk.
5
Braeside Observatory, P. O. Box 906, Flagstaff, AZ 86002;
captain@braeside.org.
6
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (Loomberah), P. O. Box 157, Tamworth
NSW 2340, Australia; gjg@mpx.com.au.
7
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (Illinois), 1269 North Skyview Drive,
East Peoria, IL 61611; jgunn@mtco.com.
8
Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Ron-
debosch 7700, Cape Town, South Africa; vanzyl@uctvms.uct.ac.za.
9
Center for Balcony Astrophysics (Tsukuba), 1-401-810 Azuma, Tsukuba,
Ibaraki 305-0031, Japan; pfg00474@niftyserve.or.jp.
10
Wise Observatory and Department of Astronomy, Tel Aviv University;
currently at the Astrophysics Group, Department of Physics, Keele University,
Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, England, UK; ar@astro.keele.ac.uk.
11
Center for Backyard Astrophysics (Belgium), Walhostraat 1A, B-3401
Landen, Belgium; Tonny.Vanmunster@advalvas.be.
12
Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auck-
land, New Zealand; pwar022@phy.auckland.ac.nz.
0.1329 days and wanders slightly and erratically in period
from year to year. But in 19971998, we saw an altogether
new feature: a very strong modulation at 0.14926 0.00006
days. This positive superhump is probably a signature of an
eccentric accretion disk. Here we report the recent photometry.
2. OBSERVATIONS
In 19971998, we organized a campaign of global photom-
etry with the telescopes of the Center for Backyard Astro-
physics (CBA) (Skillman 1993; Harvey et al. 1995). We ob-
served for 195 hr over 57 nights, with details given in Table
1. Each telescope acquired a time series of differential pho-
tometry, in V light or unltered. Comparison of simultaneous
data of each type showed no measurable differences in hump
amplitude or timing but showed small constant offsets due to
the fact that each telescope/detector operates at a slightly dif-
ferent effective wavelength. We removed these offsets prior to
analysis.
The star remained near its usual high-state brightness at
V 10.9 and displayed a light curve that looked familiar: rapid
ickering with a dominant timescale near 20 minutes and a
wave of period roughly 3 hr. A 30 hr light curve with nearly
continuous coverage is shown in Figure 1. (Here the ickering
is not easily evident but is actually present at its usual
amplitude.)
On closer inspection we found, to our surprise, that the stars
humps occurred at an unfamiliar period. For the detailed period
search, we used a central 18 day segment (JD 5078450801)
in which the observations were maximally dense. The power
spectrum is shown in Figure 2, indicating a powerful signal at
6.702 cycles day
1
(P days). Inset in 0.14921 0.00008
Figure 2 is the average waveform. There is an obvious pattern
of rapid rise and slow decline, as is usually found in the com-
mon superhumps of dwarf novae. No clear evidence of period
change was found throughout the year, and all timings were
consistent with the ephemeris
Maximum light HJD 24,507,71.470 0.14926(5) E.
L68 SKILLMAN ET AL. Vol. 503
TABLE 1
Log of 19971998 Photometry
HJD Start
(2,450,000)
Length
(hr) Points Telescope
a
HJD Start
(2,450,000)
Length
(hr) Points Telescope
a
735.3888 . . . . . . 4.77 94 1 799.6016 . . . . . . 1.44 89 5
771.4245 . . . . . . 2.09 692 2 799.8828 . . . . . . 2.45 198 7
776.6040 . . . . . . 4.16 29 3 799.9671 . . . . . . 2.21 122 10
779.4243 . . . . . . 2.92 83 1 800.1708 . . . . . . 7.10 209 1
784.2076 . . . . . . 5.17 151 1 800.9910 . . . . . . 3.06 99 9
784.4784 . . . . . . 5.87 582 4 801.5691 . . . . . . 4.54 105 8
785.6023 . . . . . . 2.71 318 4 803.0051 . . . . . . 2.43 60 10
786.5483 . . . . . . 8.76 519 5 804.0403 . . . . . . 1.66 52 9
786.5568 . . . . . . 4.86 400 6 804.9842 . . . . . . 2.74 84 10
787.1958 . . . . . . 4.20 123 1 807.2009 . . . . . . 1.89 85 11
787.3045 . . . . . . 2.46 136 2 810.5531 . . . . . . 5.19 407 6
787.6282 . . . . . . 6.24 555 6 811.5680 . . . . . . 1.56 262 12
788.6772 . . . . . . 0.79 59 5 812.7106 . . . . . . 2.04 77 13
790.3257 . . . . . . 2.62 117 2 814.4820 . . . . . . 4.10 80 8
791.2927 . . . . . . 3.15 126 2 824.2312 . . . . . . 3.48 185 14
794.6476 . . . . . . 5.94 134 5 825.1875 . . . . . . 4.17 123 1
795.6150 . . . . . . 6.43 235 5 827.5605 . . . . . . 1.87 46 8
795.8971 . . . . . . 2.83 156 7 828.2731 . . . . . . 3.77 293 14
796.4903 . . . . . . 8.32 217 8 832.5344 . . . . . . 3.30 61 8
796.5708 . . . . . . 3.22 149 5 833.5461 . . . . . . 3.21 65 8
797.5582 . . . . . . 6.71 179 8 833.6432 . . . . . . 1.51 112 6
798.0092 . . . . . . 2.89 89 9 835.1916 . . . . . . 1.78 44 1
798.6559 . . . . . . 3.86 272 6 837.4983 . . . . . . 1.78 45 8
798.9929 . . . . . . 3.09 100 9 837.6573 . . . . . . 1.97 108 6
798.9951 . . . . . . 1.88 79 10 838.5659 . . . . . . 1.98 109 6
799.1881 . . . . . . 7.27 212 1 840.5019 . . . . . . 4.02 96 8
799.1957 . . . . . . 5.47 189 11 845.2257 . . . . . . 2.98 178 14
799.5104 . . . . . . 7.62 145 8 851.2382 . . . . . . 2.03 116 14
799.5504 . . . . . . 7.36 596 6
a
Telescopes: (1) CBA-Denmark 25 cm; (2) South African Astronomical Observatory 76 cm;
(3) National Undergraduate Research Observatory 80 cm; (4) CBA-East 66 cm; (5) Braeside 41 cm;
(6) CBA-West 35 cm; (7) CBA-Auckland 35 cm; (8) CBA-Illinois 20 cm; (9) CBA-Tsukuba 20 cm;
(10) CBA-Loomberah 20 cm; (11) Wise 100 cm; (12) Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory (MDM)
127 cm; (13) MDM 232 cm; (14) CBA-Belgium 25 cm.
Fig. 2.Power spectrum of an 18 day segment with dense coverage
(JD 2450784801). A single peak appears at P 0.14921(9) days, with the
surrounding small bumps arising merely from the windowing of the time series.
Arrows point to null detections at the orbital period and the photometric period
familiar from studies during 19621994. Inset is the mean waveform at the
0.14921 day period.
Fig. 1.Long light curve of TT Ari on 1997 December 17/18, showing
the persistent superhump. This signal continued throughout the 115 day ob-
serving season, with no obvious changes in period or amplitude. The well-
known 20 minute quasi-periodic signal is present, too, but at this scale mas-
querades as noise in the light curve.
The power spectrum of Figure 2 shows only a lone peak,
with the surrounding bumps due merely to the windowing of
the time series. We removed the powerful signal from the time
series and studied the residual for any periodic signals. None
were found, to a limit of 0.023 mag full amplitude. Marked in
Figure 2 are the locations of the orbital period and the pho-
tometric period prior to 1997, and no signal was found there
to a limit of less than 0.017 mag full amplitude.
We also searched for periodic signals at low frequency
( day). Only a subset of CBA data could be used for this P 1 1
purpose because calibration uncertainties among the many tele-
scopes create the possibility of spurious signals. However, the
well-calibrated data yield a strong limit of no periodic signal
exceeding 0.06 mag full amplitude in the period range 18
days.
A minor but interesting question is, What happened to the
20 minute QPO when the 3 hr signal changed its period so
drastically? At rst glance, Figure 1 shows no clear evidence
of the 20 minute signal that has been so obvious in previous
photometry. But this is merely due to the coarser time resolution
in the gure. When we studied the individual nights, we found
signals near 20 minutes that danced wildly about in frequency,
which is the customary signature of the QPOs. The mean
No. 1, 1998 SUPERHUMPS AND ACCRETION DISK PRECESSION L69
Fig. 3.Empirical correlation of the fractional period excess with P
orb
for
positive superhumps. Squares are dwarf novae, and circles with explicit names
are other types of cataclysmic variables. TT Ari, at the upper right, ts well
with the trendsupporting its membership in this family of stars.
nightly power spectrum (not shown) gave a broad bump cen-
tered at P minutes. 23 3
3. DISCUSSION AND PROSPECTS
Cataclysmic variables of short orbital period are known to
display superhumpsphotometric waves with a period
slightly discrepant from P
orb
. These are ubiquitous and well
known in the case of SU UMatype dwarf novae (Warner
1995). But they are also common in bright CVs ( ) M ! 6
v
with hr. Most of these have a period slightly exceeding P ! 3.5
orb
P
orb
positive superhumps, since the period excess is
positive.
The fractional period excess of positive superhumps corre-
lates strongly with P
orb
, as rst remarked by Stolz & Schoembs
(1984). This is illustrated in Figure 3, where the 43 dwarf novae
are shown anonymously and other CVs are identied by name
(Table 1 of Patterson 1998). The orbital period of TT Ari is
0.13755 days (Cowley et al. 1975; Thorstensen et al. 1985).
The star appears near the upper right, with a fractional period
excess of 0.085. This clearly ts well with the trend. It seems
very likely that the newly apparent wave in TT Ari is a positive
superhump of the same type as the others represented in Figure
3.
These waves are thought to arise from the development of
an eccentric instability in the accretion disk (Whitehurst 1988;
Osaki 1989; Lubow 1991), which then precesses under the
gravity of the orbiting secondary. If the line of apsides advances
with a period P
prec
, then the secondary transits that line with a
period slightly longer than P
orb
, namely P
sh
, where
(1/P ) (1/P ) (1/P ).
sh orb prec
This is identied as the superhump period. The actual mech-
anism for generating the superhump light is not yet known. It
could be the periodic tidal stresses in the disk or the periodic
variation in the infall distance of the mass-transfer stream.
In TT Ari, this implies an apsidal precession period of 1.76
days. No photometric signal is expected, or seen, at that period.
But the superhump is rather strong in TT Ari, and it should
be powered by eccentricity. So we expect to see asymmetric
absorption lines, with the asymmetry migrating with P
days back and forth across the line prole like a seesaw 1.76
(see Figs. 6 and 12 of Patterson, Halpern, & Shambrook 1993).
Because the star is very bright with the higher Balmer lines
strongly in absorption, this is a practical measurement that can
sensitively test the eccentric-disk model for positive
superhumps.
What about the signal that disappearedthe negative su-
perhump that rippled through the light curve during 19621994
and showed an average period excess of 0.035? Can this
come from apsidal precession also? It does not seem likely.
The reason is that among the approximately nine CVs showing
negative superhumps, at least three (V503 Cyg: Harvey et al.
1995; AM CVn: Harvey et al. 1998; V603 Aq1: Patterson et
al. 1997) show positive and negative superhumps simulta-
neously. It is hard enough to understand how a differentially
rotating, uid disk can manage one well-dened precession
frequency, let alone two of the same type! It seems much more
likely that the negative superhump arises from a different type
of precessional motion, and a worthy candidate is accretion
disk wobble. If something can drive the disk out of the orbital
plane, then the torque from the secondary will cause the disk
to wobble backward; the nodes will regress, causing the ge-
ometry between disk and secondary to recur on a period slightly
less than P
orb
(the negative superhump).
We know of no spectroscopic test of the wobbling-disk the-
ory, but there is a photometric test: assuming the disk to be
not too close to face-on, there should be a photometric signal
at the wobble frequency itself due to the periodic variation of
disk area. Indeed, a search for this expected nodal-precession
signal at 4.0 days was the goal of our recent observing effort.
The disappearance of the negative superhump thwarted the
enterprise, but a search is warmly recommended whenever the
negative superhump returns. Possible detections have already
been reported by Semeniuk et al. (1987) and Kraicheva et al.
(1997).
Do we understand why the star retired one of its superhumps
and activated the other? Certainly not. No noticeable changes
in spectrum or mean brightness accompanied this event. In
19971998 the full amplitude was 0.22 mag, with no meas-
urable change over the 115 day campaign. We hope to track
the amplitude excursions of these signals over the years, and
we hope that theorists will study the growth and decay time-
scales of accretion disk precession, following the work of Lu-
bow (1991, 1992).
We thank Richard Thompson and Darragh ODonoghue for
contributions to the observing campaign, and we thank the
Research Corporation and the NSF for their support of the CBA
and our research on cataclysmic variables.
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