Periodic variations in the colours of the classical T Tauri star RW Aur A

Abstract

The classical T Tauri star RW Aur A is an irregular variable with a large amplitude in all photometric bands. In an extended series of photometric data we found small-amplitude periodic variations in the blue colours of the star, with a period of 2.64 days. The period was relatively stable over several years. The amplitude of the periodic signal is 0.21 mag in U-V, 0.07 mag in B-V, and about 0.02 mag in V-R and V-I. No periodicity was found in the V magnitude. The relevance of this photometric period to the recently discovered periodicity in spectral features of the star is discussed, and the hypothesis of a hot spot is critically considered.