Related papers: Sodium enhancement in evolved cataclysmic variable…
Recent spectroscopic observations have identified several cataclysmic variables non-solar metal abundances. We present theoretical models which examine the level of core evolution expected for CV secondaries prior to contact. Our results…
We derive metallicities for 41 cataclysmic variables (CVs) from near-infrared spectroscopy. We use synthetic spectra that cover the 0.8 $\mu$m $\leq \lambda \leq$ 2.5 $\mu$m bandpass to ascertain the value of [Fe/H] for CVs with K-type…
We present a binary evolution study of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and related systems with white dwarf accretors, including for example, AM CVn systems, classical novae, supersoft X-ray sources, and systems with giant donor stars. Our…
I review what we know about the donor stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs), focusing particularly on the close link between these binary components and the overall secular evolution of CVs. I begin with a brief overview of the "standard…
We present the results of a systematic study of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and related systems, combining detailed binary-population synthesis (BPS) models with a grid of 120 binary evolution sequences calculated with a Henyey-type stellar…
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 a systematic survey for mass-transferring and recently-detached cataclysmic variables (CVs) with evolved secondaries, which are progenitors of extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM WDs), AM CVn systems, and detached ultracompact…
We present measurements of the component masses in 15 Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) - 6 new estimates and 9 improved estimates. We provide new calibrations of the relationship between superhump period excess and mass ratio, and use this…
We investigate why the spectral type of most cataclysmic variable (CV) secondaries is significantly later than that of a ZAMS star with the same mean density. Using improved stellar input physics, tested against observations of low-mass…
We model cataclysmic variables (CVs) with solar metallicity donors ($X=0.7,\:Z=0.02$) that evolve to form AM CVn stars through the Evolved CV formation channel using various angular momentum loss mechanisms by magnetic braking…
Context. AM CVn binaries are potential progenitors of thermonuclear supernovae and strong sources of persistent gravitational wave radiation. For a long time, it has been believed that these systems cannot descend from cataclysmic variables…
Stellar evolution models predict that internal mixing should cause some sodium overabundance at the surface of red giants more massive than ~ 1.5--2.0 Msun. The surface aluminium abundance should not be affected. Nevertheless, observational…
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…
The detection of heavy elements at suprasolar abundances in the atmospheres of some accreting white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables, coupled with the high temperatures needed to produce these elements requires explosive thermonuclear…
We recently identified an upturn in [Na/Fe] for the population of Solar-type stars in the Galactic young thick disc ($-0.3 < \mathrm{[Fe/H]} < +0.3$) at super-Solar metallicity in data from the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH)…
Galactic chemical evolution models which include sodium from type II supernovae alone underestimate the abundance of sodium in the interstellar medium by a factor of two to three over about 3 dex in metallicity and predict a flat behaviour…
The formation of cataclysmic variables (CVs) has long been modeled as a product of common envelope evolution (CEE) in isolated binaries. However, a significant fraction of intermediate-mass stars -- the progenitors of the white dwarfs (WDs)…
Binary evolution predicts a population of helium core (M < 0.5 Msol) white dwarfs (WDs) that are slowly accreting hydrogen-rich material from low mass main sequence or brown dwarf donors with orbital periods less than four hours. Four…
Cataclysmic variables were long considered to be close binaries consisting of a white dwarf and a Roche-lobe-filling, near-zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) red or brown dwarf. Recent massive surveys have uncovered an increasing number of…
The evolution and stability of mass transfer of CO+He WD binaries are not well understood. Observationally they may emerge as AM CVn binaries and are important gravitational wave (GW) emitters. In this work, we have modeled the evolution of…