Optical flickering of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi: Amplitude-flux relation

Abstract

We report observations of the flickering variability of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Oph at quiescence in five bands (UBVRI). We find evidence of a correlation between the peak-to-peak flickering amplitude (ΔF) and the average flux of the hot component (Fav). The correlation is highly significant, with a correlation coefficient of 0.85 and a p-value of ~10-20. Combining the data from all wavebands, we find a dependence of the type ΔF α Fkav, with power-law index k = 1.02 ± 0.04 for the UBVRI flickering of RS Oph. Thus, the relationship between the amplitude of variability and the average flux of the hot component is consistent with linearity. The rms amplitude of flickering is on average 8 per cent (±2 per cent) of Fav. The detected correlation is similar to that found in accreting black holes/neutron stars and cataclysmic variables. The possible reasons are briefly discussed. The data are available upon request from the authors.