Related papers: Accretion and activity on the post-common-envelope…
We use three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study the structure of the boundary layer between an accretion disc and a non-rotating, unmagnetized star. Under the assumption that cooling is efficient, we obtain a narrow but…
Interacting binaries in which a white dwarf accretes material from a companion --- cataclysmic variables (CVs) in which the mass loss is via Roche-lobe overflow, and symbiotic stars in which the white dwarf captures the wind of a late type…
Two magnetic braking models are implemented in MESA for use in the MIST stellar model grids. Stars less than about 1.3 $M_{\odot}$ are observed to spin down over time through interaction with their magnetized stellar winds (i.e., magnetic…
White dwarfs (WDs) are the final fate of about 97\% of the stars in our galaxy, making them vital tracers of stellar history. A fraction of WDs exist in cataclysmic variable (CV) systems, accreting matter from a nearby companion star. A…
Pre-main-sequence stars are observed to be surrounded by both accretion flows and some kind of wind or jet-like outflow. Recent work by Matt and Pudritz has suggested that if classical T Tauri stars exhibit stellar winds with mass loss…
We calculate the stellar evolution of both white dwarfs (WDs) in AM CVn binaries with orbital periods of $P_{\mathrm{orb}} \approx 5-70$ minutes. We focus on the cases where the donor starts as a $M_{\mathrm{He}} < 0.2 \, M_{\odot}$ Helium…
Dwarf novae (DNe) are accreting white dwarfs that show eruptions due to a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk. The outburst timescales constrain $\alpha$, the ratio of the viscous stress to the thermal pressure, and so the…
We report on two millimeter flares detected by ALMA at 220 GHz from AU Mic, a nearby M dwarf. The larger flare had a duration of only $\sim35$ sec, with peak $L_{R}=2\times10^{15}$ erg s$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1}$, and lower limit on linear…
We study accretion induced collapse of magnetized white dwarfs as an origin of millisecond pulsars. We apply magnetized accretion disk models to the pre-collapse accreting magnetic white dwarfs and calculate the white dwarf spin evolution.…
Our binary evolutionary code predicted until now the position of both stars in the HRD, the characteristics of the accretion disk around the gainer in the case that there is enough space between both stars for this disk. Our code includes a…
We have observed the symbiotic stellar system R Aqr, aiming to describe the gravitational interaction between the white dwarf (WD) and the wind from the Mira star, the key phenomenon driving the symbiotic activity and the formation of…
The hard X-ray spectrum of magnetic cataclysmic variables can be modelled to provide a measurement of white dwarf mass. This method is complementary to radial velocity measurements, which depend on the (typically rather uncertain) binary…
The majority of stars reside in multiple systems, especially binaries. The formation and early evolution of binaries is a longstanding problem in star formation that is not fully understood. In particular, how the magnetic field observed in…
AM Her variables -- synchronised magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs) -- exhibit a different period distribution from other CVs across the period gap. We show that non-AM Her systems may infiltrate the longer-period end of the period gap if…
We provide a brief review of the physical processes behind the radiative driving of the winds of OB stars and the Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton capture and accretion of a fraction of the stellar wind by a compact object, typically a neutron star,…
Energetic outflows from main sequence stars accreting mass at very high rates might account for the powering of some eruptive objects, such as merging main sequence stars, major eruptions of luminous blue variables, e.g., the Great Eruption…
We review the most decisive currently available measurements of the surface effective temperatures, Teff, of white dwarf (WD) primaries in cataclysmic variables (CVs) during accretion quiescence, and use these as a diagnostic for their time…
We report an observed accretion rate of $\dot M_1 = (3.86\pm0.60)\times 10^{-11}$ $M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ for the white dwarf in the short-period, intermediate polar EX Hya. This result is based upon the accretion-induced $4\pi$-averaged…
We present a description for the angular momentum loss rate due to magnetic braking for late type stars taking into account recent observational data on the relationship between stellar activity and rotation. The analysis is based on an…
We report on a 120 ks Chandra/HETG spectrum of the black hole GRS 1915+105. The observation was made during an extended and bright soft state in June, 2015. An extremely rich disk wind absorption spectrum is detected, similar to that…