Related papers: A search for brown-dwarf like secondaries in catac…

We present spectroscopy and orbital periods Porb of four relatively little-studied cataclysmic variable stars. The stars and their periods are: AF Cam, Porb = 0.324(1) d (the daily cycle count is slightly ambiguous); V2069 Cyg (= RX…

We focus on short--period eclipsing binaries that belong to a class of Cataclysmic Variables (CVs). They are known as polars and intermediate polars, closely resembling their prototype AM Herculis. These binaries consist of a red dwarf and…

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…

I review here the results of the first RV survey for spectroscopic companions to very young brown dwarfs (BDs) and (very) low-mass stars in the ChaI star-forming cloud with UVES at the VLT. This survey studies the binary fraction in an as…

We present the K-band spectrum of the cataclysmic variable LL And, obtained using NIRSPEC on Keck-II. The spectrum shows no evidence for the absorption features observed by Howell & Ciardi (2001), which these authors used to claim a…

V1082 Sgr is a cataclysmic variable with accretion luminosity above $10^{34}$erg s$^{-1}$, indicating a mass transfer rate above $10^{-9}M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. However, its K type companion was suggested to be under-filling its Roche lobe…

We present infrared H- and K-band spectra of a companion candidate 3" north of the young star GSC 08047-00232, a probable member of the nearby young Horologium association. From previously obtained JHK-band colors and the magnitude…

We construct a complete, semi-empirical donor sequence for CVs with orbital periods less than 6 hrs. All key physical and photometric parameters of CV secondaries (along with their spectral types) are given as a function of P_orb along this…

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…

We present Roche tomograms of the G5-G8 IV/V secondary star in the long-period cataclysmic variable BV Cen reconstructed from MIKE echelle data taken on the Magellan Clay 6.5-m telescope. The tomograms show the presence of a number of…

We show that the secondaries in short-period cataclysmic variables with orbital periods $P < 3$ hr are close to the solar-abundance main sequence defined by single field stars. In cataclysmic variables with $P > 3$ hr, the earliest spectral…

We present the first X-ray observations with the XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL satellites of the recently discovered cataclysmic variable 1RXSJ173021.5-055933, together with simultaneous UV and coordinated optical photometry aiming at…

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 report the discovery of two new magnetic cataclysmic variables with brown dwarf companions and long orbital periods ($P_{\rm orb}=95\pm1$ and $104\pm2$ min). This discovery increases the sample of candidate magnetic period bouncers with…

We present K-band spectra of the short-period dwarf novae YZ Cnc, LY Hya, BK Lyn, T Leo, SW UMa and WZ Sge, the novalike variables DW UMa, V1315 Aql, RW Tri, VY Scl, UU Aqr and GP Com, and a series of field dwarf stars with spectral types…

The determination of the fundamental properties (mass, separation, age, gravity and atmospheric properties) of brown dwarf companions allows us to infer crucial informations on their formation and evolution mechanisms. Spectroscopy of…

The results of a high-resolution interferometric campaign targeting the symbiotic long-period variable (LPV) R~Aqr are reported. With both near-infrared measurements on baselines out to 10m and mid-infrared data extending to 32m, we have…

Among the 28,000 targeted stars in K2 Field 10 is the white dwarf WD 1202-024 (EPIC 201283111), first noted in the SDSS survey (SDSS 120515.80-024222.7). We have found that this hot white dwarf (Teff = 22,640 K) is in a very close orbit (P…

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the cataclysmic variable CW 1045+525. Both the optical spectrum and the photometric lightcurve show a strong contribution of a K5V - M0V secondary. We derive an orbital period P_orb =…

We combine optical, near-infrared and mid-infrared spectra and photometry to construct expanded spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 145 field age (\textgreater 500 Myr) and 53 young (lower age estimate \textless 500 Myr) ultracool…