Related papers: AE Aquarii: how CVs descend from supersoft binarie…

We present infrared JHK photometry of the cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73-033933.0 (SDSS1238)and analyze it along with optical spectroscopy, demonstrating that the binary system is most probably comprised of a massive white dwarf with…

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…

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 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…

During a visual search through the Kepler main-field lightcurves, we have discovered a cataclysmic variable (CV) that experienced only a single 4-day long outburst over four years, rising to three times the quiescent flux. During the four…

We present spectroscopy and orbital periods Porb for 30 apparently non-magnetic cataclysmic binaries with periods below about 3 hours, nearly all of which are dwarf novae, mostly of the SU Ursae Majoris subclass. We then turn to the…

The flow structure in magnetic cataclysmic variables was investigated taking into account the effects of strong magnetic field and fast rotation of the white dwarf. We modeled the AE Aqr system as a unique object that has the rotation…

AM CVn systems are a select group of ultracompact binaries with the shortest orbital periods of any known binary subclass; mass-transfer is likely from a low-mass (partially-)degenerate secondary onto a white dwarf primary, driven by…

We investigate the spin evolution of the unusual magnetic CV AE Aqr. As a prototype for a potentially large population of CVs subject to a thermally unstable phase of mass transfer, understanding its future is crucial. We present a new…

We have developed a numerical MHD model of the propeller candidate star AE Aqr using axisymmetric magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. We suggest that AE Aqr is an intermediate polar-type star, where the magnetic field is relatively weak…

Ultracompact binary systems, consisting of two compact objects in an orbit $\lesssim 0.5 R_\odot$, should exhibit measurable rates of orbital period change ($\dot{P} \neq 0$) due to the emission of gravitational waves (GWs). Measurements of…

CSS1603+19 is a cataclysmic variable (CV) with an orbital period of 81.96 min, near the minimal period of cataclysmic variables. It is unusual in having a strong mid-infrared excess inconsistent with thermal emission from a brown dwarf…

The spin-down power of the white dwarf in the close binary AE Aquarii significantly exceeds the bolometric luminosity of the system. The interpretation of this phenomenon in terms of the gravitational-wave emitter mechanism has been…

AM CVn binaries are the most compact of accreting binaries having orbital periods in the range ~5-70 min. They consist of a white dwarf accreting hydrogen deficient material from a degenerate or semi-degenerate star and are predicted to be…

We present the results of the study of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) stars with our double dynamo (DD) formalism of angular momentum loss (AML) by magnetic braking (MB). We show that (1) our MB model…

We report the discovery of 1RXH J082623.6-505741, a 10.4 hr orbital period compact binary. Modeling extensive optical photometry and spectroscopy reveals a $\sim 0.4 M_{\odot}$ K-type secondary transferring mass through a low-state…

The intermediate polar FO Aquarii (FO Aqr) experienced its first-reported low-accretion states in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and using newly available photographic plates, we identify pre-discovery low states in 1965, 1966, and 1974. The primary…

Photometric observations of the supersoft X-ray source 1E 0035.4-7230 obtained during two years reveal that the very blue optical counterpart (V (maximum)=20.2, B-V=-0.15, U-B=-1.06) undergoes nearly sinusoidal variations with a period of…

AE Aqr objects are a class of cataclysmic variable stars in which the rapidly rotating magnetosphere of the white dwarf (WD) primary centrifugally expels most infalling gas before it can accrete onto the WD. The expulsion of the accretion…

The process of energy release in the magnetosphere of a fast rotating, magnetized white dwarf can be explained in terms of the canonical spin-powered pulsar model. Applying this model to the white dwarf companion of the low mass close…