IR Com: Deeply Eclipsing Dwarf Nova Below the Period Gap -- A Twin of HT Cas?

Abstract

We observed an X-ray selected, deeply eclipsing cataclysmic variable IR Com (=S 10932). We detected an outburst occurring on 1996 January 1. The light curve of the outburst closely resembled that of a normal outburst of an SU UMa-type dwarf nova, rather than that of an intermediate polar. Time-resolved photometry during outburst showed that eclipses became systematically deeper and narrower as the outburst faded. Full-orbit light curves in quiescence showed little evidence of orbital humps or asymmetry of eclipses. In addition to the presence of high--low transitions in quiescence, the overall behavior of outbursts and characteristics of the eclipse profiles suggest that IR Com can be best understood as a twin of HT Cas, a famous eclipsing SU UMa-type dwarf nova with a number of peculiarities.

8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

References in corpus (2)

• Outbursts of EX Hydrae: mass-transfer events or disc instabilities?
• The ``Outside-In'' Outburst of HT Cassiopeiae

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Variable Star Network: World Center for Transient Object Astronomy and Variable Stars
• ULTRACAM photometry of the eclipsing cataclysmic variables GY Cnc, IR Com and HT Cas
• Two X-Ray Bright Cataclysmic Variables with Unusual Activities: GZ Cnc and NSV 10934
• V1494 Aql: Eclipsing Fast Nova with an Unusual Orbital Light Curve
• Outburst Photometry of the Eclipsing Dwarf Nova GY Cancri
• Spectroscopy of the enigmatic short-period cataclysmic variable IR Com in an extended low state
• The Nature of V359 Centauri Revealed: New Long-Period SU UMa-Type Dwarf Nova
• Detection of Short Fading Episodes in Two Dwarf Novae from VSNET Observations