Thermal stability and nova cycles in permanent superhump systems

Abstract

Archival data on permanent superhump systems are compiled to test the thermal stability of their accretion discs. We find that their discs are almost certainly thermally stable as expected. This result confirms Osaki's suggestion (1996) that permanent superhump systems form a new subclass of cataclysmic variables (CVs), with relatively short orbital periods and high mass transfer rates. We note that if the high accretion rates estimated in permanent superhump systems represent their mean secular values, then their mass transfer rates cannot be explained by gravitational radiation, therefore, either magnetic braking should be extrapolated to systems below the period gap or they must have mass transfer cycles. Alternatively, a new mechanism that removes angular momentum from CVs below the gap should be invoked. We suggest applying the nova cycle scenarios offered for systems above the period gap to the short orbital period CVs. Permanent superhumps have been observed in the two non-magnetic ex-novae with binary periods below the gap. Their post-nova magnitudes are brighter than their pre-outburst values. In one case (V1974 Cyg) it has been demonstrated that the pre-nova should have been a regular SU UMa system. Thus it is the first nova whose accretion disc was observed to change its thermal stability. If the superhumps in this system indicate persistent high mass transfer rates rather than a temporary change induced by irradiation from the hot post-nova white dwarf, it is the first direct evidence for mass transfer cycles in CVs. The proposed cycles are driven by the nova eruption.