Variability in the cycle length of the supersoft source RX J0513.9-6951
  The supersoft X-ray binary RX J0513.9-6951 shows cyclic changes between optical-low / X-ray-on states and optical-high / X-ray-off states. It is supposed to be accreting close to the Eddington-critical limit and driven by "accretion wind evolution". We seek to derive the variations in the characteristic time scales of the long-term optical light curve and to determine the implications for the physical parameters of the system. We used existing and new optical monitoring observations covering a total time span of 14 years and compared the durations of the low and high states with the model calculations of Hachisu & Kato. The cycle lengths and especially the durations of the optical high states show a longterm modulation with variations that, according to the accretion wind evolution model, would imply variations in the mass transfer rate by a factor of 5 on timescales of years. 
V. Burwitz (1), K. Reinsch (2), J. Greiner (1), E. Meyer-Hofmeister   (3), F. Meyer (3), F. M. Walter (4), R. E. Mennickent ...