Z Cam Stars in the Twenty-First Century
Abstract
Z Cam (UGZ) stars are a small subset of dwarf novae that exhibit standstills in their light curves. Most modern literature and catalogs of cataclysmic variables quote the number of known Z Cams to be on the order of thirty or so systems. After a four-year observing campaign and an exhaustive examination of the data in the AAVSO International Database (AID) we have trimmed that number by a third. One of the reasons for the misclassification of some systems is the fact that the definition of what a Z Cam is has changed over the last eighty-five years. This has caused many stars formerly assumed to be Z Cams or rumored to be Z Cams to be eliminated from the final list. In this paper we present the results of our investigation into sixty-five stars listed at one time or another in the literature as Z Cams or possible Z Cams.
- Publication:
-
Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (JAAVSO)
- Pub Date:
- May 2014
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1402.0207
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1402.0207
- Bibcode:
- 2014JAVSO..42..177S
- Keywords:
-
- variable stars;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 22 pages, 26 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in the Journal of the AAVSO