TESS Light Curves of Cataclysmic Variables. IV. A Synoptic View of Eclipsing Old Novae and Novalike Variables

Abstract

Based mainly on the months-long 2 minutes time-resolution light curves observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Telescope (TESS) space mission of 48 eclipsing old novae and novalike variables (commonly referred to as NLs) selected from the Ritter & Kolb catalog, a synoptic view of some basic properties of these systems is provided. The supraorbital variations exhibit a large diversity of behavior. Data taken from the literature and many additional eclipse epochs measured in the TESS and in AAVSO light curves are used to update the orbital ephemerides of 21 targets. The large majority of these suffer period variations which defy current theoretical understanding. Orbital waveforms are constructed and, if possible, their variation over time is studied, revealing some common characteristics but also substantial differences between individual systems. The dependence of the eclipse depth on the out-of-eclipse flux reveals that in all systems a fraction of the light source responsible for the out-of-eclipse variations escapes eclipse and is probably located in the outer disk regions. In systems exhibiting superhumps, both eclipse width and epoch are modulated with the accretion disk precession period. This suggests an expansion and contraction of the eclipsed light source, as well as a periodic shift of its light center as a function of the accretion disk precession phase. The dependence of the orbital and superhump waveforms on the disk precession phase is also examined but does not lead to a consistent picture. Two cataclysmic variables are newly identified as eclipsing. Attention is drawn to specific peculiarities in some of the target stars.