The mysterious nature of HS2331+3905

Abstract

We report the discovery of one unique cataclysmic variable drawn from the Hamburg Quasar Survey, HS2331+3905. Follow-up observations obtained over three years unveiled a very unusual picture. The large amplitude 3.5 h radial velocity variations obtained from our optical spectroscopy is not the orbital period of the system, as one would normally expect. Instead, extensive CCD photometry strongly suggests that HS2331+3905 is a short orbital period cataclysmic variable with Porb = 81.09 min, containing a cold white dwarf which appears to exhibit ZZ Ceti pulsations.

2 pages, 2 figures, LaTex, to appear in proceedings of the IAU Coll. 194 "Compact Binaries in the Galaxy and Beyond", La Paz (Mexico), November 17-21, 2003