Novalike Cataclysmic Variables are Significant Radio Emitters

Understand

Radio emission from non-magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs, accreting white dwarfs) could allow detailed studies of outflows and possibly accretion flows in these nearby, numerous and non-relativistic compact accretors.

• Up to now, however, very few CVs have been detected in the radio.
• We have conducted a VLA pilot survey of four close and optically-bright novalike CVs at 6 GHz, detecting three, and thereby doubling the number of radio detections of these systems.
• RW Sex, V603 Aql and the old nova TT Ari were detected in both of the epochs, while V1084 Her was not detected (to a $3\sigma$ upper-limit of 7.8 $\mu\rm{Jy}\,\rm{beam}^{-1}$).