The long-term optical activity of the propellers AE Aquarii and AR Scorpii

Abstract

Abstract This analysis of the long-term optical activity of the propellers AE Aqr and AR Sco uses data from the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey, DASCH, and AAVSO. The site and character of the emissions from the phenomena caused by the magnetic field of the white dwarf (WD) vary from system to system. The histogram of intensities of the ensemble of flares of AE Aqr suggests that the long-term activity consists of a large variety of the peak magnitudes of the flares, with the probability of their detection gradually decreasing with increasing intensity. Any increase of activity only leads to an increase of the number of blobs of the transferring matter. We also detected a season with a transient decrease or even a cessation of the mass outflow from the donor to the lobe of the WD. The very strong orbital modulation of AR Sco is most stable in the phases of the extrema of brightness for about a century; its minor changes suggest that the trailing side of the synchrotron-emitting region is more unstable than the leading side.