The cataclysmic variable CW 1045+525: A secondary-dominated dwarf nova?

¹ Departamento de Física y Matemáticas, Grupo de Astronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
² Dipartimento di Astronomia, Università di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 2, 35122 Padova, Italy
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755 USA
⁴ Astronomisches Institut, Ruhr-Universität, 44780 Bochum, Germany
⁵ European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile
⁶ Osservatorio Astronómico di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy

Corresponding author: C. Tappert, claus@gemini.cfm.udec.cl

Received: 12 June 2001
Accepted: 10 October 2001

Abstract

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the cataclysmic variable CW 1045+525. Both the optical spectrum and the photometric lightcurve show a strong contribution of a K5V-M0V secondary. We derive an orbital period d by measuring the radial velocities of the absorption lines of the secondary. The period and spectral type of the secondary suggest a distance of 350-700 pc. There is evidence for additional sources of line- and continuum emission, but no direct evidence of an accretion disc. We discuss several scenarios for the nature of CW 1045+525 on the basis of our results, finding a dwarf nova classification to be the most probable, although not completely satisfying, explanation for the observed characteristics.