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We carried out optical observations of the field of the X-ray pulsatorRXJ0806.3+1527. A blue V=21.1 star was found to be the only object consistentwith the X-ray position. VLT FORS spectra revealed a blue continuum with nointrinsic absorption lines. Broad (v~1500 km/s), low equivalent width (about-1/-6A) emission lines from the HeII Pickering series were clearly detected. B,V and R time-resolved photometry revealed the presence of about 15% pulsationsat the 321s X-ray period, confirming the identification. These findings,together with the period stability and absence of any additional modulation inthe 1min-5hr period range, argue in favour of the orbital interpretation of the321s pulsations. The most likely scenario is thus that RXJ0806.3+1527 is adouble degenerate system of the AM CVn class. This would make RXJ0806.3+1527the shortest orbital period binary currently known and one of the bestcandidates for gravitational wave detection.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A Letter

RX J0806.3+1527: A double degenerate binary with the shortest known orbital period (321s)