A Transient Radio Jet in an Erupting Dwarf Nova
Elmar Körding,1*
Michael Rupen,2
Christian Knigge,1
Rob Fender,1
Vivek Dhawan,2
Matthew Templeton,3
Tom Muxlow4
Astrophysical jets seem to occur in nearly all types of accreting objects, from supermassive black holes to young stellar objects. On the basis of x-ray binaries, a unified scenario describing the disc/jet coupling has evolved and been extended to many accreting objects. The only major exceptions are thought to be cataclysmic variables: Dwarf novae, weakly accreting white dwarfs, show similar outburst behavior to x-ray binaries, but no jet has yet been detected. Here we present radio observations of a dwarf nova in outburst showing variable flat-spectrum radio emission that is best explained as synchrotron emission originating in a transient jet. Both the inferred jet power and the relation to the outburst cycle are analogous to those seen in x-ray binaries, suggesting that the disc/jet coupling mechanism is ubiquitous.
1 School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
2 National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 10003 Lopezville Road, Socorrow, NM 87801, USA.
3 American Association of Variable Star Observers, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
4 University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield SK11 9DL, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: elmar{at}phys.soton.ac.uk
