Related papers: Transients from the Cataclysmic Deaths of Cataclys…
The observed orbital period distribution of cataclysmic variables (CVs), the space density derived from observations, and the observed orbital period minimum are known to disagree with theoretical predictions since decades. More recently,…
We present high-speed, multicolour photometry of the faint, eclipsing cataclysmic variable (CV) SDSS J105754.25+275947.5. The light from this system is dominated by the white dwarf. Nonetheless, averaging many eclipses reveals additional…
We reconstruct the evolutionary path followed by cataclysmic variables (CVs) from the observed mass-radius relationship of their donor stars. Along the way, we update the semi-empirical CV donor sequence of Knigge (2006) and present a…
Three periodically variable stars have recently been discovered (V407 Vul, P=9.5 min; ES Cet, P=10.3 min; RX J0806.3+1527, P=5.3 min) with properties that suggest that their photometric periods are also their orbital periods, making them…
Mergers of binaries comprised of compact objects can give rise to explosive transient events, heralding the birth of exotic objects which cannot be formed through single star evolution. Using a large number of direct N-body simulations, we…
Mergers between helium white dwarfs and main-sequence stars are likely common, producing red giant-like remnants making up roughly a few percent of all low-mass ($\lesssim2M_\odot$) red giants. Through detailed modeling, we show that these…
The mean white dwarf (WD) mass in the Galactic bulge cataclysmic variables (CVs) was measured by applying the the shock temperature-WD mass correlation of magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) to the Galactic Bulge X-ray Emission (GBXE)…
We have used HST/FOS to study faint UV stars in the core of the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397. We confirm the presence of a 4th cataclysmic variable (CV) in NGC 6397 (CV 4), and we use the photometry of Cool et al. (1998) to present…
Novae are cataclysmic variables driven by accretion of H-rich material onto a white-dwarf (WD) star from its low-mass main-sequence binary companion. New time-domain observational capabilities, such as the Palomar Transient Factory and…
Unstable mass transfer may occur during white dwarf-neutron star (WD-NS) mergers, in which the WD can be tidally disrupted and form an accretion disk around the NS. Such an accretion disk can produce unbound wind ejecta, with synthesized…
A large number of white dwarf and donor masses in cataclysmic variables have been found via modelling the primary eclipse, a method that relies on untested assumptions. Recent measurements of the mass of the white dwarf in the cataclysmic…
Interacting binaries in which a white dwarf accretes material from a companion - cataclysmic variables (CVs) in which the mass donor is a Roche-lobe filling star on or near the main sequence, and symbiotic stars in which the mass donor is a…
We systematically investigate the mergers of neutron star-white dwarf binaries from beginning to end, with focus on the properties of the inflows and outflows in accretion disks and their electromagnetic emissions. Using population…
Gravitational wave emission can lead to the coalescence of close pairs of compact objects orbiting each other. For the case of neutron stars such mergers may yield masses above the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit, leading to the formation…
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…
A substantial fraction of Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) reveals non-solar abundances. A comprehensive list of CVs which includes those that have been examined for these abundances is given. Three possible sources of these non-solar abundances…
We perform smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations for merging binary carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) with masses of $1.1$ and $1.0$ $M_\odot$, until the merger remnant reaches a dynamically steady state. Using these…
In this paper, we model the observable signatures of tidal disruptions of white dwarf (WD) stars by massive black holes (MBHs) of moderate mass, $\approx 10^3 - 10^5 M_\odot$. When the WD passes deep enough within the MBH's tidal field,…
We present HST spectroscopy for 45 cataclysmic variables (CVs), observed with HST/COS and HST/STIS. For 36 CVs, the white dwarf is recognisable through its broad Ly$\alpha$ absorption profile and we measure the white dwarf effective…
We present stellar evolution calculations of the remnant of the merger of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs (CO WDs). We focus on cases that have a total mass in excess of the Chandrasekhar mass. After the merger, the remnant manifests as an…