Related papers: SW Sex stars, old novae, and the evolution of cata…
From a large observing campaign, we found that nearly all non- or weakly magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the orbital period range between 2.8 and 4 hours are of SW Sex type and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. The…
All eclipsing nova-likes in the 2.8-4h orbital period range belong to the group of SW Sex stars, and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. Since the physical properties of a star should be independent of the inclination it is…
The SW Sextantis stars are novalike cataclysmic variables (CVs) which exhibit intricate behaviour which is still a matter of debate. For years the common belief has been that these systems were the``outlaws'' of the CVs, mainly because of…
SW Sextantis stars are a class of cataclysmic variables originally defined via certain peculiar properties that they all have in common. In this article, I review our knowledge of these stars and show the way from a phenomenological…
Cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are close binary systems consisting of a white dwarf (primary) that is accreting matter from a low-mass companion star (secondary). From time to time such systems undergo large-amplitude brightenings. The…
From recent large observing campaigns, one finds that nearly all non- or weakly magnetic cataclysmic variables in the orbital period range between 2.8 and 4 hours are of SW Sex type and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. The…
We review our knowledge of the origin and phenomenology of low states (also known as VY Scl states) in cataclysmic variables, making special emphasis on the cataclysmic variable population found just above the period gap. This orbital…
The theoretical and observed populations of pre-cataclysmic variables (pre-CVs) are dominated by systems with low-mass white dwarfs (WDs), while the WD masses in CVs are typically high. In addition, the space density of CVs is found to be…
We present a preliminary comparison of the post-nova population with that of general cataclysmic variables (CVs). We particularly focus on the mass-transfer rate and its potential relation to the nova eruption. We find that the known…
Cataclysmic variable (CVs) are close interacting binaries in which a white dwarf accretes materials from a low mass main sequence companion. CVs can experience nova eruptions due to low mass transfer rates. In the standard theory of CV…
We investigate variations of the mass transfer rate in cataclysmic variables (CVs) that are induced by nova outbursts. The ejection of nova shells leads to a spread of transfer rates in systems with similar orbital period. The effect is…
Cataclysmic variables are binary stars in which a relatively normal star is transferring mass to its compact companion. This interaction gives rise to a rich range of behaviour, of which the most noticeable are the outbursts that give the…
The population of non magnetic cataclysmic variables evolving under the influence of a circumbinary disk is investigated for systems above the upper edge of the period gap at orbital periods greater than 2.75hr. For a fractional mass input…
[Abridged] We present time-series optical photometry of five new CVs identified by the Hamburg Quasar Survey. The eclipses observed in HS 0129+2933, HS 0220+0603, and HS 0455+8315 provided very accurate orbital periods of 3.35129827(65),…
SW Sex stars are an informal sub-class of eclipsing nova-like cataclysmic variables. We report 934 new eclipse times measured over the past 17 years for HS 0728+6738 (V482 Cam), SW Sex, DW UMa, HS 0129+2933 (TT Tri), V1315 Aql, PX And, HS…
Secondary stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs) follow a well defined period-density relation. Thus, canonical donor stars in CVs are generally low-mass stars of spectral type M. However, several CVs have been observed containing secondary…
We present low-resolution spectrophotometric optical observations of the eclipsing nova-like cataclysmic variable SW Sex, the prototype of the SW Sex stars. We observed the system when it was in an unusual low state. The spectrum is…
Cataclysmic variables undergo periodic nova explosions during which a finite mass of material is expelled on a short timescale. The system widens and, as a result, the mass-transfer rate drops. This state of hibernation may account for the…
The influence of a circumbinary (CB) disk on the evolution of cataclysmic variable (CV) binary systems is investigated. We show that CB mass surface densities sufficient to influence the evolution rate are plausibly provided by the outflows…
The eruption of a (classical) nova is widely accepted to be a recurrent event in the lifetime of a cataclysmic binary star. In-between eruptions the system should therefore behave as a "normal" cataclysmic variable (CV), i.e. according to…