The new AM Her system RX J0704.2+6203

Northern twin of BL Hydri

¹ OAN, Instituto de Astronomía, UNAM, Mexico
² Department of Astronomy, Box 351580, University of Washington, Seattle, USA e-mail: szkody@astro.washington.edu
³ Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany e-mail: jgreiner@aip.de
⁴ Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, France
⁵ Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Optica y Electrónica, AP 51 y 216, Puebla, Pue., México
⁶ Landessternwarte Königstuhl, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁷ Udmurtia State University, Universitetskaya st., Izhevsk, Russia

Corresponding author: G. Tovmassian, gag@astrosen.unam.mx Present address: PO Box 439027, San Diego, CA 92143, USA.

Received: 12 April 2001
Accepted: 9 August 2001

Abstract

We report here on the identification and study of the optical counterpart of the ROSAT source RX J0704.2+6203. Extensive spectral and photometric observation showed that the object belongs to the class of magnetic Cataclysmic Variables. We determined the orbital period of the system to be 9727 and estimated the strength of its magnetic field to be on the order of 20 MG. The system was observed in both high and low states, common for its class. Other parameters of the magnetic close binary system were estimated. The spectral and photometric behavior of the object is similar to that of the well studied polar BL Hyi.