Related papers: Mass Transfer between Double White Dwarfs
Magnetic cataclysmic variables are close binary systems containing a strongly magnetized white dwarf that accretes matter coming from an M-dwarf companion. High-energy radiation coming from those objects is emitted from the accretion column…
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…
We obtained time-resolved optical photometry and spectroscopy of the nova-like variable KR Aurigae in the low state. The spectrum reveals a DAB white dwarf and a mid-M dwarf companion. Using the companion star's $i$-band ellipsoidal…
The vast majority of massive binary systems in the universe is evidently unsuited to produce merging binary black holes. However, several narrow evolutionary paths of isolated massive binaries towards this goal have recently been…
We study evolution of a hierarchical four-body (2+2) system composed by a pair of mass-transferring white dwarf binaries. Applying a simplified model around the synchronous state of two inner orbital periods, we newly find that the four…
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,…
Planets orbiting intermediate and low-mass stars are in jeopardy as their stellar hosts evolve to white dwarfs (WDs) because the dynamics of the planetary system changes due to the increase of the planet:star mass ratio after stellar…
We present in this contribution our set of multiwavelength synthesis models including the evolution of single and binary stars. The main results we have obtained can be summarized as follows: (a) massive close-binary systems will start to…
We present a case study for the relevance of the r-mode instability for accreting compact stars. Our estimates are based on approximations that facilitate back-of-the-envelope calculations. We discuss two different cases: 1) For recycled…
We review the most decisive currently available measurements of the surface effective temperatures, Teff, of white dwarf (WD) primaries in cataclysmic variables (CVs) during accretion quiescence, and use these as a diagnostic for their time…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs (WDs) exhibit signs of ongoing accretion of refractory elements at rates $\sim10^3$--$10^7$ kg s$^{-1}$, among which, 37 WDs were detected to harbor dusty debris disks. Such a concurrence requires not…
We analyze radial velocity observations of the 12 extremely low-mass <0.25 Msol white dwarfs (WDs) in the MMT Hypervelocity Star Survey. Eleven of the 12 WDs are binaries with orbital periods shorter than 14 hours; the one non-variable WD…
In close binaries mass and angular momentum can be transferred from one star to the other during Roche-lobe overflow. The efficiency of this process is not well understood and constitutes one of the largest uncertainties in binary…
The distribution of white dwarf rotation periods provides a means for constraining angular momentum evolution during the late stages of stellar evolution, as well as insight into the physics and remnants of double degenerate mergers.…
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…
Binaries and higher order systems can experience mass transfer events between their components. The angular momentum carried by the gained mass can change the observable parameters of the accretor and spin it up to critical rotation. In…
The theoretical and observed populations of pre-cataclysmic variables (pre-CVs) are dominated by systems with low-mass white dwarfs (WDs), while the WD masses in CVs are typically high. In addition, the space density of CVs is found to be…
White dwarfs are compact stars, similar in size to Earth but ~200,000 times more massive. Isolated white dwarfs emit most of their power from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, but when in close orbits with less dense stars, white…
We present the results of our study of ASASSN-14dx, a previously known but poorly characterised cataclysmic variable (CV). The source was observed as part of an ongoing high-time-resolution photometric survey of CVs, which revealed that, in…
We study the stability of systems of three giant planets orbiting 3 - 8 M_Sol stars at orbital distances of >10 au as the host star ages through the Main Sequence (MS) and well into the White Dwarf (WD) stage. Systems are stable on the MS…