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arXiv · 2603.24182

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

Ian D Sharp
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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.

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Ian D Sharp. 2026-03-25. SS Cygni: An analysis of quasi-periodic oscillations in the range of 0.25h to 8h. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.24182

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