* Astronomy

Title: The Photometric Periods of the Nova-Like Cataclysmic Variable LQ Pegasi (PG 2133+115)
Authors: Gerald D. Rude II, F. A. Ringwald

We present a time-resolved differential photometric study and time series analysis of the nova-like cataclysmic variable star LQ Peg. We discover three periodicities in the photometry, one with a period of 3.42 ±0.03 hours, and another with a period of 56.8 ±0.01 hours. We interpret these to be the apsidal superhump and precessional periods of the accretion disk, respectively, and predict that the orbital period of LQ Peg is 3.22 ±0.03 hours. The third periodicity, with a period of 41.3 ±0.01 hours, we interpret to be the nodal precessional period of the accretion disk. We also report a flare that lasted four minutes and had an energy in visible light of (1.2 ±0.3) x 10^36 ergs, or 10^4-5 times more energetic than the largest solar flares, comparable to the most energetic visible-light stellar flares known. We calculate the absolute magnitude of LQ Peg to be M_J = 4.78 ±0.54, and its distance to be 800 ±200 pc.

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