Photometric parameters of the dwarf nova SS Cygni in the quiescent state

The mean 1983–1996 UBV light curves of the dwarf nova SS Cyg are used to derive the binary parameters in the quiescent state. Solutions are obtained for a classical hot-spot model and a model with an energy source lying outside the accretion disk. Photometric and spectroscopic data are combined to infer the masses and radii of the binary components. The white dwarf in SS Cyg is one and a half times as massive as the red dwarf, q=M _wd /M _rd ～1.45, M _rd ～0.46M _⊙ and M _wd ～0.66M _⊙. The orbital inclination of the system is i?51°–54°. The contribution of the accretion disk to the total flux in the quiescent state is estimated to be ～47–49% and ～54% in the VU and B filters, respectively. The hot spot contributes less than ～3% to the total optical flux. In the “non-classical” hot-spot model, the disk and bulge contributions are 27 and 2–8%, respectively, depending on the orbital phase. The shape of the mean light curves of SS Cyg suggests asymmetric heating of the red-dwarf surface in the quiescent state by high-temperature radiation generated in the hot-spot region.