Photometric superoutburst observations of the short-period dwarf nova TV Corvi

We present photometric observations of the short-period dwarf nova TV Corvi during a superoutburst in 1994 June. Our high-speed photometric observations cover six nights and show well-defined superhumps. Using our measured superhump period, we confirm TV Crv as a short-period dwarf nova, with a likely orbital period of 1.50 h. Assuming that the cause of the superhumps is a 3:1 tidal resonance, theory allows a mass ratio of q = 0.22 to be predicted. This in turn provides mass estimates for the two components of M1=0.52 M⊙ and M2 = 0.12 M⊙. Assigning TV Crv a probable absolute magnitude based on current work on faint, large outburst amplitude dwarf novae, we find a distance of 350 pc.