We conducted time-resolved optical spectroscopy and/or time-series photometry of 15 cataclysmic binaries that were discovered in hard X-ray surveys by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), with the goal of measuring their orbital periods and searching for spin periods. Four of the objects in this study are new optical identifications: Swift J0535.2+2830, Swift J2006.4+3645, IGR J21095+4322, and Swift J2116.5+5336. Coherent pulsations are detected from three objects for the first time, Swift J0535.2+2830 (1523 s), 2PBC J1911.4+1412 (747 s), and 1SWXRT J230642.7+550817 (464 s), indicating that they are intermediate polars (IPs). We find two new eclipsing systems in time-series photometry: 2PBC J0658.0−1746, a polar with a period of 2.38 hr, and Swift J2116.5+5336, a disk system that has an eclipse period of 6.56 hr. Exact or approximate spectroscopic orbital periods are found for six additional targets. Of note is the long 4.637-day orbit for Swift J0623.9−0939, which is revealed by the radial velocities of the photospheric absorption lines of the secondary star. We also discover a 12.76 hr orbital period for RX J2015.6+3711, which confirms that the previously detected 2.00 hr X-ray period from this star is the spin period of an IP, as inferred by Coti Zelati et al. These results support the conclusion that hard X-ray selection favors magnetic CVs, with IPs outnumbering polars.

We report on the discovery of an eclipsing dwarf nova (DN) inside the peculiar, bilobed nebula Te 11. Modelling of high-speed photometry of the eclipse finds the accreting white dwarf to have a mass 1.18 M ⊙ and temperature 13 kK. The donor spectral type of M2.5 results in a distance of 330 pc, colocated with Barnard's loop at the edge of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. The perplexing morphology and observed bow shock of the slowly-expanding nebula may be explained by strong interactions with the dense interstellar medium in this region. We match the DN to the historic nova of 483 CE in Orion and postulate that the nebula is the remnant of this eruption. This connection supports the millennia time scale of the post-nova transition from high to low mass-transfer rates. Te 11 constitutes an important benchmark system for CV and nova studies as the only eclipsing binary out of just three DNe with nova shells.

We report detailed follow-up observations of eight cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) that are apparently AM Her stars, also called polars. For all, we either determine orbital periods for the first time or improve on existing determinations. The seven for which we have spectra show the high-amplitude radial-velocity curves and prominent He ii λ4686 emission lines characteristic of strongly magnetic CVs, and their periods, which range from 81 to 219 minutes, are also typical for AM Her stars. Two objects from the Gaia-alerts index, Gaia18aot and Gaia18aya, are newly identified as CVs. Another, RX J0636.3+6554, eclipses deeply, while CSS 080228:081210+040352 shows a sharp dip that is apparently a partial eclipse. The spectrum of Gaia18aya has a cyclotron harmonic near λ5500 Å that constrains the surface field to ∼49 MG or greater.

We present photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations of short-period variables discovered in the OmegaWhite survey: a wide-field high-cadence g-band synoptic survey targeting the Galactic Plane. We have used fast photometry on the SAAO 1.0-m and 1.9-m telescopes to obtain light curves of 27 variables, and use these results to validate the period and amplitude estimates from the OmegaWhite processing pipeline. Furthermore, 57 sources (44 unique, 13 also with new light curves) were selected for spectroscopic follow-up using either the SAAO 1.9-m telescope or the Southern African Large Telescope. We find many of these variables have spectra which are consistent with being δ Scuti type pulsating stars. At higher amplitudes, we detect four possible pulsating white dwarf/subdwarf sources and an eclipsing cataclysmic variable. Due to their rarity, these targets are ideal candidates for detailed follow-up studies. From spectroscopy, we confirm the symbiotic binary star nature of two variables identified as such in the SIMBAD database. We also report what could possibly be the first detection of the 'Bump Cepheid' phenomena in a δ Scuti star, with OW J175848.21-271653.7 showing a pronounced 22% amplitude dip lasting 3 minutes during each pulsational cycle peak. However, the precise nature of this target is still uncertain as it exhibits the spectral features of a B-type star.