Related papers: On accretion in the polar V379 Vir
During the low optical brightness states of AM Herculis systems (polars) when accretion has declined to a very low value, the underlying magnetic white dwarf photosphere can be modelled without the complication of thermal bremstrahlung and…
Our previous theoretical study of the impact of an accreting envelope on the thermal state of an underlying white dwarf (WD) has yielded equilibrium core temperatures, classical nova ignition masses and thermal luminosities for WDs…
We performed an optical study of the magnetic period-bouncer candidate IL Leo. Long-term photometric analysis over $\approx 20$ years reveals multiple state transitions. Modelling the ultraviolet and optical spectral energy distribution…
High-energy data of accreting white dwarfs give access to the regime of the primary accretion-induced energy release and the different proposed accretion scenarios. We perform XMM-Newton observations of polars selected due to their ROSAT…
The polars VV Pup and V393 Pav were observed with XMM-Newton during states of low accretion rate with peak X-ray luminosities of ~1 x 10^30 and ~1 x 10^31 erg/s, respectively. In both polars, accretion onto the white dwarf was extremely…
We present an analysis of high-speed u- and r-band photometry of the eclipsing polar HU Aquarii that was obtained with ULTRACAM mounted on the VLT. The observations were performed during a low state, permitting us for the first time to…
Brown dwarfs and giant planets orbiting close to a host star are subjected to significant irradiation that can modify the properties of their atmospheres. In order to test the atmospheric models that are used to describe these systems, it…
We studied the spectral energy distribution (SED) of 22 known AM~CVns with orbital periods ($P_{orb}$) larger than 35~min using multiwavelength public photometric data to estimate the effective temperature of the accreting white dwarf. We…
We calculate the heating and cooling of the accreting white dwarf (WD) in the ultracompact AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries and show that the WD can contribute significantly to their optical and ultraviolet emission. We estimate the…
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…
Two new magnetic white dwarf accretion binaries with extremely low mass-transfer rates have been discovered in the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Measured magnetic fields are 42 MG and 57 MG, and one system orbits with a period of…
Optical photometry, spectroscopy and XMM-Newton ultraviolet and X-ray observations with full phase coverage are used for an in-depth study of WXLMi, a system formerly termed as a low-accretion rate polar. We find a constant low mass…
Based on high-resolution optical spectroscopy in the blue and the near infra-red spectral range, we derived velocity images (Doppler tomograms) of the mass-donating secondary star and the accretion stream of the long-period eclipsing polar…
We empirically determine effective temperatures and bolometric luminosities for a large sample of nearby M dwarfs, for which high accuracy optical and infrared photometry is available. We introduce a new technique which exploits the flux…
About a dozen substellar companions orbiting young stellar objects or pre-main sequence stars at several hundred au have been identified in the last decade. These objects are interesting both due to the uncertainties surrounding their…
Mass transfer in stellar binaries has been well studied in most stellar mass ranges, with the notable exception of ultracool stars and substellar brown dwarfs. We report the discovery of ZTF J1239+8347 with the Zwicky Transient Facility…
An XMM-Newton observation of the nearby "pre-cataclysmic" short-period (P_orb = 3.62 hr) binary QS Vir (EC 13471-1258) revealed regular narrow X-ray eclipses when the white dwarf passed behind its M2-4 dwarf companion. The X-ray emission…
This paper presents a spectral and photometric study of the poorly studied polar BM CrB. Three states of the polar brightness and signs of transition from one-pole to two-pole accretion mode were found by an analysis of ZTF data. It is…
Our long-term photometric monitoring of southern nova-like cataclysmic variables with the 1.3-m SMARTS telescope found BB Doradus fading from V ~ 14.3 towards a deep low state at V ~ 19.3 in April 2008. Here we present time-resolved optical…
Several dozen binary ultracool and brown dwarf systems have been identified to date. These systems represent valuable probes of star and planet formation at the lowest mass scales. To date, the study of these ultracool binaries has been…