Period and gravitational wave analysis of the AM CVn candidate J103317.2+072118

AM CVn stars are semi-detached cataclysmic variable binaries with white dwarf accretors and orbital period below 70 minutes. Because of their short orbital periods, these stars are considered prime candidates for producing strong gravitational waves. J103317.2+072118, a candidate for this class, was observed in 2017 as a target of the Kepler K2 mission's fourteenth campaign. The data from this observation were used in this work to model the system’s parameters by analyzing the photometry for periodic variations and extrapolating from the results. Using Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis, the orbital period was determined to be 69.9 minutes, with a white dwarf rotational frequency of 14.17 cycles/day. By comparing the determined orbital period to those of known AM CVns, the mass ratio of J103317 was estimated as q = 0.01. With an estimated mass of 0.6 M_sun for the accreting primary, the calculated orbital radius is 0.55 R_sun and the calculated gravitational wave amplitude that would be observed from Earth is 8.9*10^-22/r, where r is the distance from Earth in parsecs. Thus, the system’s gravitational radiation is too weak to be detected by LIGO, but it may be detectable by LISA. Further observations on J103317 will allow us to improve our predictions of how AM CVn systems evolve.