WZ Sge-type dwarf novae

Abstract

Abstract We have summarized the current understanding and recently obtained findings about WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. We also reviewed the historical development of the understanding of these objects, provided the modern criteria, and reviewed the past research in relation to superhumps, early superhumps, and the outburst mechanism. We regard the presence of early superhumps (reflecting the 2:1 resonance) and long or multiple rebrightenings as the best distinguishing properties of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. We provided the updated list of nearly 100 WZ Sge-type dwarf novae mainly based on the data obtained by the VSNET Collaboration up to Kato et al. (2015, PASJ, 67, 105), and discussed the statistics. We could detect early superhumps with amplitude larger than 0.02 mag in 63% of the studied WZ Sge-type dwarf novae, which makes early superhumps a useful distinguishing feature for WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. Theoretical light curves of early superhumps generally appear to reproduce the existence of many low-amplitude objects, supporting the geometrical origin of early superhumps. Using the recently developed method of measuring mass ratios using developing phase of superhumps (stage A superhumps), we showed that there is a linear relation between the period variation of superhumps and the mass ratio in WZ Sge-type objects. By using this relation, we were able to draw an evolutionary picture of a large number of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae and identified the type of outburst to be an evolutionary sequence: type C → D → A → B → E, with some outliers for type-B objects. The duration of stage A (evolutionary phase) of superhumps is also well correlated with the estimated mass ratios. By using mass ratios from stage A superhumps and the duration of stage A, we have been able to identify the best candidates for period bouncers.