K2 and MAXI observations of Sco X-1 - evidence for disc precession?

Sco X-1 is the archetypal low-mass X-ray binary and the brightest persistent extrasolar X-ray source in the sky. It was included in the K2 Campaign 2 field and was observed continuously for 71 d with 1 min time resolution. In this Letter, we report these results and underline the potential of K2 for similar observations of other accreting compact binaries. We reconfirm that Sco X-1 shows a bimodal distribution of optical `high' and `low' states and rapid transitions between them on time-scales less than 3 h (or 0.15 orbits). We also find evidence that this behaviour has a typical systemic time-scale of 4.8 d, which we interpret as a possible disc precession period in the system. Finally, we confirm the complex optical versus X-ray correlation/anticorrelation behaviour for `high' and `low' optical states, respectively.