V356 Sgr optical polarization

After removing interstellar polarization from these data, we find that the system exhibits a large intrinsic polarization signature arising from electron scattering. In addition, the lack of repeatable eclipses in the polarization phase curves indicates the presence of a substantial pool of scatterers not occulted by either star.

We suggest that these scatterers form either a circumbinary disc coplanar with the gainer's accretion disc or an elongated structure perpendicular to the orbital plane of V356 Sgr, possibly formed by bipolar outflows. We also observe small-scale, cycle-to-cycle variations in the magnitude of intrinsic polarization at individual phases, which we interpret as evidence of variability in the amount of scattering material present within and around the system.