RX J1643.7+3402: A new bright cataclysmic variable

We report the discovery of a new bright ($V\sim12.6$) cataclysmic variable star identified with the ROSAT X-ray source RX J1643.7+3402. Spectroscopic and photometric observations show it to be a novalike variable sharing some of the characteristics of the SW Sex sub-class of novalike CVs. The spectroscopic period may be either 2$\fh$575 or 2$\fh$885, within the period “gap”. A photometric modulation with a probable period of 2$\fh$595 and an amplitude of ~0.1 mag in V is present on most nights and could be either a “positive" or a “negative" superhump modulation (depending on the exact spectroscopic period), indicating the presence of a precessing accretion disk in this system. Rapid variations of 0.1 to 0.2 mag amplitude in V repeat with a time scale of ~15 min.