The dwarf nova EX Draconis: a short review
Abstract
EX Draconis (EX Dra) is a long period dwarf nova showing ~2 mag outburst which lasts for ~7 d and recur on a timescale of (20-30) d. Its deep eclipses allows one to trace the changes in surface brightness and radius of its accretion disk along the outburst cycle and to perform critical tests of the predictions of the thermal-viscous disk instability (DI) and the mass transfer outburst (MTO) models proposed to explain dwarf nova outbursts. The results of four critical tests are in clear contradiction with DI while in good agreement with MTO expectations. Furthermore, the observed variations in brightness and outer disk radius throughout EX Dra outbursts are well described by the response of a high-viscosity (alpha = 3-4) accretion disk to events in which the mass transfer rate increases by factors of ~30 for ~7 d, in line with MTO expectations. We further argue that the old expectation of accretion disk theory, alpha <= 1, seems unjustified and contradicts the values derived from dwarf nova outburst decline timescales if they are driven by MTO.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.02683,
title = {The dwarf nova EX Draconis: a short review},
author = {Raymundo Baptista and Wagner Schlindwein},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.02683},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
12 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference "The Golden Age of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects - VII", published by SISSA