SS Cygni: An analysis of quasi-periodic oscillations in the range of 0.25h to 8h

Abstract

Presented here is an analysis of over 66,000 magnitude measurements, made by the author, of the cataclysmic variable SS Cygni in two photometric filters (Cousins R and Johnson V). This large number of measurements, along with their cadence, is sufficient to analyse the light curve for quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) ranging from a few minutes to a few hours with the most frequently found QPOs having periods of 30 minutes (48 cycles/day). These QPOs occur predominantly during quiescent phases rather than outbursts, representing a previously understudied aspect of SS Cygni's variability.

12 pages, 6 figures