Cataclysmic Variables from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. II. The Second Year

The first full year of operation following the commissioning year of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has revealed a wide variety of newly discovered cataclysmic variables (CVs). We show the SDSS spectra of 42 CVs observed in 2002, of which 35 are new classifications, four are known dwarf novae (CT Hya, RZ Leo, T Leo, and BZ UMa), one is a known CV identified from a previous quasar survey (Aqr1), and two are known ROSAT or FIRST discovered CVs (RX J09445+0357, FIRST J102347.6+003841). The SDSS positions, colors, and spectra of all 42 systems are presented. In addition, the results of follow-up studies of several of these objects identify the orbital periods, velocity curves, and polarization that provide the system geometry and accretion properties. While most of the SDSS discovered systems are faint (greater than 18th magnitude) with low accretion rates (as implied from their spectral characteristics), there are also a few bright objects that may have escaped previous surveys due to changes in the mass transfer rate.

Based on observations obtained with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope, which are owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC).