Measurement of the orbital and superhump periods of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable SDSS J170213.26+322954.1

Abstract

The orbital period of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable SDSS J170213.26+322954.1 has been measured as 0.10008215+/-0.00000001d using observations of eclipses during the first recorded superoutburst in October 2005 together with eclipses observed in quiescence in July 2003. This period puts the system in the centre of the period gap. Observation of superhumps during the October 2005 outburst with a period of 0.10496+/-0.00015d confirms this to be a UGSU-type system with a period excess of 4.9%.

Accepted for publication in Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 3 pages, 9 figures