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The layered honeycomb magnet $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ is the most promising candidate for a Kitaev quantum spin liquid (KQSL) that can host charge-neutral Majorana fermions. Recent studies have shown significant sample dependence of thermal transport properties, which are a key probe of Majorana quasiparticles in the KQSL state, highlighting the importance of preparing high-quality single crystals of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. Here, we present a relatively simple and reliable method to grow high-quality single crystals of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. We use a two-step crystal growth method consisting of a purification process by chemical vapor transport (CVT) and a main crystal growth process by sublimation. The obtained crystals exhibit a distinct first-order structural phase transition from the monoclinic ($C2/m$) to the rhombohedral ($R\bar{3}$) structure at $\sim150$ K, which is confirmed by the nuclear quadrupole resonance spectra with much sharper widths than previously reported. The Raman spectra show the absence of defect-induced modes, supporting the good crystallinity of our samples. The jumps in the thermal expansion coefficient and specific heat at the antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at 7.6-7.7 K are larger and sharper than those of previous samples grown by the CVT and Bridgman methods and do not show any additional AFM transitions at 10-14 K due to stacking faults. The longitudinal thermal conductivity in the AFM phase is significantly larger than previously reported, indicating a very long mean free path of heat carriers. All the results indicate that our single crystals are of superior quality with good crystallinity and few stacking faults, which provides a suitable platform for studying the Kitaev physics., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures

We report optical photometric observations of four superoutbursts of the short-period dwarf nova TV Crv. This object experiences two types of superoutbursts; one with a precursor and the other without. The superhump period and period excess of TV Crv are accurately determined to be 0.065028 +/- 0.000008 d and 0.0342 +/- 0.0021, respectively. This large excess implies a relatively large mass ratio of the binary components (M_2/M_1), though it has a short orbital period. The two types of superoutbursts can be explained by the thermal-tidal instability model for systems having large mass ratios. Our observations reveal that superhump period derivatives are variable in distinct superoutbursts. The variation is apparently related to the presence or absence of a precursor. We propose that the superhump period derivative depends on the maximum disk radius during outbursts. We investigate the relationship of the type of superoutbursts and the superhump period derivative for known sources. In the case of superoutbursts without a precursor, superhump period derivatives tend to be larger than those in precursor-main type superoutbursts, which is consistent with our scenario., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

We conducted a time-resolved photometric campaign of the helium dwarf nova, 2003aw in 2004 May--June. 2003aw stayed at 14.7--15.7 mag for the first several days during this campaign, which is the plateau phase of this superoutburst. This variable then rapidly decayed to $\sim$18.0 mag, still brighter by about 2 mag than its quiescence magnitude, and maintained this brightness for about 20 days, having short flares of $\sim$2 mag. A long fading tail followed it. We detected superhumps with a period of 0.02357(4) d [= 2036(3) s] during the plateau phase. The whole light curve of the superoutburst in 2003aw, taking into account the present data and those in the literature, perfectly resembles that of the 1996-1997 superoutburst of the peculiar WZ Sge-type hydrogen-rich dwarf nova, EG Cnc., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, PASJ Letter in press

We report the photometric observations of an SU UMa-type dwarf nova VW CrB during two superoutbursts in 2001 and 2003 and a normal outburst in 2003. Superhumps with a period of 0.07287(1) d were observed during the 2003 superoutburst. The change rate of the superhump period was positive. During the normal outburst, there are some hint of modulation up to a 0.2-mag amplitude. However, any periodicity was not found. The recurrence cycles of the normal outburst and the superoutburst, and the distance were estimated to be > ~50 d, 270-500 d, and 690(+230, -170) pc, respectively. These recurrence cycles are usual values for an SU UMa-type dwarf nova having this superhump period. The superhump period of VW CrB was the longest among those of the SU UMa stars with positive derivatives of the superhump period. The coverage of our observations was, however, not enough, and the variation of the Psh change rate of VW CrB is still unknown. A superhump regrowth and a brightening were seen near the end of the plateau phase. Measuring the deviation of the start timings of the brightening and the superhump regrowth (>2 days in VW CrB) will be a key to reveal the mechanism of these phenomena., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PASJ

We present time-resolved photometry of V1494 Aql (Nova Aql 1999 No. 2: http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/Novae/v1494aql.html) between 2001 November and 2003 June. The object is confirmed to be an eclipsing nova with a period of 0.1346138(2) d. The eclipses were present in all observed epochs. The orbital light curve shows a rather unusual profile, consisting of a bump-like feature at phase 0.6-0.7 and a dip-like feature at phase 0.2-0.4. These features were probably persistently present in all available observations between 2001 and 2003. A period analysis outside the eclipses has confirmed that these variations have a period common to the orbital period, and are unlikely interpreted as superhumps. We suspect that structure (probably in the accretion disk) fixed in the binary rotational frame is somehow responsible for this feature., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in PASJ (special issue on VSNET), for more information, see http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/

We report on the results of the QW Ser campaign which has been continued from 2000 to 2003 by the VSNET collaboration team. Four long outbursts and many short ones were caught during this period. Our intensive photometric observations revealed superhumps with a period of 0.07700(4) d during all four superoutbursts, proving the SU UMa nature of this star. The recurrence cycles of the normal outbursts and the superoutbursts were measured to be $\sim$50 days and 240(30) days, respectively. The change rate of the superhump period was -5.8x10^{-5}. The distance and the X-ray luminosity in the range of 0.5-2.4 keV are estimated to be 380(60) pc and log L_x = 31.0 \pm 0.1 erg s^{-1}. These properties have typical values for an SU UMa-type dwarf nova with this superhump period., Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, to appear in the VSNET special issue of PASJ

Variable Star Network (VSNET, http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/) is a global professional-amateur network of researchers in variable stars and related objects, particularly in transient objects, such as cataclysmic variables, black hole binaries, supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. The VSNET has been playing a pioneering role in establishing the field of "transient object astronomy", by effectively incorporating modern advance in observational astronomy and global electronic network, as well as collaborative progress in theoretical astronomy and astronomical computing. The VSNET is now one of the best-featured global networks in this field of astronomy. We review on the historical progress, design concept, associated technology, and a wealth of scientific achievements powered by the VSNET., Comment: 57 pages, 21 figures, to appear in PASJ (special issue on VSNET), for more information and a full resolution version, see http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/

The black hole X-ray binary V4641 Sgr experienced an outburst in 2002 May which was detected at X-ray, optical, and radio wavelengths. The outburst lasted for only 6 days, but the object remained active for the next several months. Here we report on the detailed properties of light curves during the outburst and the post-outburst active phase. We reveal that rapid optical variations of ~100 s became more prominent when a thermal flare weakened and the optical spectrum flattened in the Ic, Rc, and V-band region. In conjunction with the flat spectrum in the radio range, this strongly indicates that the origin of rapid variations is not thermal emission, but synchrotron emission. Just after the outburst, we detected repeated flares at optical and X-ray wavelengths. The optical and X-ray light curves exhibited a strong correlation, with the X-rays, lagging by about 7 min. The X-ray lag can be understood in terms of a hot region propagating into the inner region of the accretion flow. The short X-ray lag, however, requires modifications of this simple scenario to account for the short propagation time. We also detected rapid optical variations with surprisingly high amplitude 50 days after the outburst, which we call optical flashes. During the most prominent optical flash, the object brightened by 1.2 mag only within 30 s. The released energy indicates that the emission source should be at the innermost region of the accretion flow., Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, PASJ accepted

After 10 years of quiescence, HV Vir underwent a superoutburst in January 2002. We report time-series observations clearly revealing the period change of ordinary superhumps during the superoutburst. We derived a mean superhump period of 0.058260 d and a positive period derivative of $7 \times 10^{-5}$. These results are in good agreement with the value obtained from the 1992 superoutburst. We also detected early superhumps, which were not clearly recognized in the past outburst, and a possible rebrightening. Both of them are the common characteristics of WZ Sge-type stars., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ

An intensive photometric-observation campaign of the recently discovered SU UMa-type dwarf nova, Var73 Dra was conducted from 2002 August to 2003 February. We caught three superoutbursts in 2002 October, December and 2003 February. The recurrence cycle of the superoutburst (supercycle) is indicated to be $\sim$60 d, the shortest among the values known so far in SU UMa stars and close to those of ER UMa stars. The superhump periods measured during the first two superoutbursts were 0.104885(93) d, and 0.10623(16) d, respectively. A 0.10424(3)-d periodicity was detected in quiescence. The change rate of the superhump period during the second superoutburst was $1.7\times10^{-3}$, which is an order of magnitude larger than the largest value ever known. Outburst activity has changed from a phase of frequent normal outbursts and infrequent superoutbursts in 2001 to a phase of infrequent normal outbursts and frequent superoutbursts in 2002. Our observations are negative to an idea that this star is an related object to ER UMa stars in terms of the duty cycle of the superoutburst and the recurrence cycle of the normal outburst. However, to trace the superhump evolution throughout a superoutburst, and from quiescence more effectively, may give a fruitful result on this matter., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to A&A

We observed the 2001 November superoutburst of CC Cnc. This observation makes the first detailed coverage of a superoutburst of this object. The best-determined mean superhump period is 0.075518 +/- 0.000018 d, which is 2.7% longer than the reported orbital period. This fractional superhump excess is a quite typical value for a normal SU UMa-type dwarf nova, excluding the previously raised possibility that CC Cnc may have an anomalously large fractional superhump excess. During the superoutburst plateau, the object showed a decrease of the superhump period at dot(P)/P = -10.2(1.3) x 10^(-5), which is one of the largest negative period derivative known in all SU UMa-type dwarf novae., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

We photometrically observed the VY Scl-type cataclysmic variable KR Aurigae after its final rise from the fading episode in 2000-2001. Time-resolved observation revealed that the light curve is dominated by persistent short-term variation with time-scales of minutes to tens of minutes. On some nights, quasi-periodic variations with periods of 10--15 min were observed. No coherent variation was detected. The power spectral density of the variation has a power law component (f^(-1.63)). The temporal properties of the short-term variations in KR Aur present additional support for the possibility that flickering in CVs may be better understood as a result of self-organized critical state as in black-hole candidates. The light curve lacks "superhump"-type signals, which are relatively frequently seen in VY Scl-type systems and which are suggested to arise from tidal instability of the accretion disk induced by changing mass-transfer rates. The present observation suggests a borderline of superhump excitation in VY Scl-type stars between mass ratios q=0.43 (MV Lyr) and q=0.60 (KR Aur)., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

We examined the VSNET light curve of the unusual SU UMa-type dwarf nova V503 Cyg which is known to show a short (89 d) supercycle length and exceptionally small (a few) normal outbursts within a supercycle. In 1999-2000, V503 Cyg displayed frequent normal outbursts with typical recurrence times of 7-9 d. The behavior during this period is characteristic to an usual SU UMa-type dwarf nova with a short supercycle length. On the other hand, V503 Cyg showed very infrequent normal outbursts in 2001-2002. Some of the superoutbursts during this period were observed shorter than usual. The remarkable alternations of the outbursting states in V503 Cyg support the presence of mechanisms of suppressing normal outbursts and premature quenching superoutbursts, which have been proposed to explain some unusual SU UMa-type outbursts. The observed temporal variability of the suppressing/quenching mechanisms in the same object suggests that these mechanisms are not primarily governed by a fixed system parameter but more reflect state changes in the accretion disk., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

We detected four outbursts of V359 Cen (possible nova discovered in 1939) between 1999 and 2002. Time-resolved CCD photometry during two outbursts (1999 and 2002) revealed that V359 Cen is actually a long-period SU UMa-type dwarf nova with a mean superhump period of 0.08092(1) d. We identified its supercycle length as 307-397 d. This secure identification of the superhump period precludes the previously supposed possibility that V359 Cen could be related to a WZ Sge-type system with a long persistence of late superhumps. The outburst characteristics of V359 Cen are, however, rather unusual in its low occurrence of normal outbursts., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We observed the ROSAT-selected eclipsing dwarf nova GY Cnc (=RX J0909.8+1849) during the 2001 November outburst. We refined the orbital period to be 0.17544251(5) d. The fading portion of the outburst was indistinguishable from those of typical dwarf novae with similar orbital periods. However, the signature of orbital humps (or a hot spot) was far less prominently observed in the orbital light curves and eclipse profiles than in usual dwarf novae with similar orbital periods. The combination of low frequency of outbursts and the apparent lack of slowly rising, long outbursts in GY Cnc is difficult to reconcile within the standard framework of dwarf novae. We suspect that GY Cnc may be the first above-the-gap counterpart of unusual eclipsing dwarf novae HT Cas and IR Com., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

We present the first far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations of the magnetic cataclysmic variable VV Puppis, obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite. In addition, we have obtained simultaneous ground-based optical photometric observations of VV Pup during part of the FUV observation. The shapes of the FUV and optical light curves are consistent with each other and with those of past observations at optical, extreme-ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths. Time-resolved FUV spectra during the portion of VV Pup's orbit when the accreting magnetic pole of the white dwarf can be seen show an increasing continuum level as the accretion spot becomes more directly visible. The most prominent features in the spectrum are the O VI 1031.9A, 1037.6A emission lines. We interpret the shape and velocity shift of these lines in the context of an origin in the accretion funnel near the white dwarf surface. A blackbody function with T > 90,000 K provides an adequate fit to the FUV spectral energy distribution of VV Pup., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; to be published in the Astronomical Journal

IW And was discovered as a unique blue variable, which spends 72% of time in "inactive" state, and was only occasionally observed in bright or faint states. Although the past spectroscopy confirmed that the object is a cataclysmic variable (CV), the object has been regarded as significantly different from the known subclasses of CVs. We observed IW And on 55 nights between 2001 December 6 and 2002 March 25. These observations clearly indicate that the object is a Z Cam-type dwarf nova. The duty cycle of standstill in IW And is exceptionally high among Z Cam stars. IW And is apparently the first object to fill the gap between classical Z Cam stars and novalike (NL) stars., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Inf. Bull. Var Stars

V2540 Oph (Nova Oph 2002) is a classical nova discovered by Katsumi Haseda and Yuji Nakamura on 2002 January 24. The light curve of this nova shows strong post-outburst oscillations as were observed in V1178 Sco and V4361 Sgr. Accurate astrometry of the nova yeilded an upper limit of 21 mag for the nova precursor. In combination with the observed decline rate, We propose that the nova should have either a short orbital period or a high inclination. We suggest that V2540 Oph may be analogous to V2214 Oph, a presumed magnetic nova inside the period gap., Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Inf. Bull. Var. Stars

We revealed that the dwarf nova 1RXS J232953.9+062814 is an SU UMa-type system with a superhump period of 66.774+/-0.010 min. The short period strongly indicates that the orbital period of this object is below the period minimum of cataclysmic variables. The superhump period is 4.04+/-0.02 % longer than the photometric period during quiescence (64.184+/-0.003 min), which is probably associated with the orbital period. Although the standard evolutionary scenario of cataclysmic variables predicts lower mass-transfer rates in systems with shorter orbital periods, we revealed firm evidence of a relatively high mass-transfer rate from its large proper motion and bright apparent magnitude. Its proximity indicates that we have overlooked a number of objects in this new class. With the analogous system of V485 Cen, these objects establish the first subpopulation in hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables below the period minimum., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, PASJ in press

Our photometric monitoring revealed that DW Cnc, which was originally classified as a dwarf nova (V=15--17.5), remained at a bright state of Rc=14.68+/-0.07 for 61 days. In conjunction with optical spectra lacking a strong He II emission line, we propose that the object is not a dwarf nova, but a non-magnetic nova-like variable. Throughout our monitoring, the object showed strong quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with amplitudes reaching about 0.3 mag. Our period analysis yielded a power spectrum with two peaks of QPOs, whose center periods are 37.5+/-0.1 and 73.4+/-0.4 min and, furthermore, with a significant power in frequencies lower than the QPOs. DW Cnc is a unique cataclysmic variable in which kilo-second QPOs were continuously detected for 61 days. We propose two possible interpretations of DW Cnc: (i) A permanent superhumper below the period minimum of hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables. (ii) A nova-like variable having an orbital period over 3 hours. In this case, the QPOs may be caused by trapped disk oscillations., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, PASJ in press