Related papers: Magnetically moderated outbursts of WZ Sagittae
We find a dimming during optical quiescence of the cataclysmic variable WZ Sge by about half a magnitude between superoutbursts. We connect the dimming with the development of a cavity in the inner part of the accretion disk. We suggest…
We present a model for the dwarf nova WZ Sge which does not require assuming unusually and unexplained low values of the viscosity alpha-parameter during exceptionally long quiescent states of this system. We propose that the inner parts of…
We model the evolution of the accretion disk of WZ Sagittae during the long quiescence. We find that the large amount of mass in the disk derived from the outburst luminosity is a severe constraint and demands values of $\alpha_c$ $\approx$…
We show that if the inner regions of accretion discs in quiescent dwarf nova systems are removed by magnetic disruption or evaporated by siphon flows, the remaining disc is globally stable for mass transfer rates $\lta 10^{15}$ g s$^{-1}$.…
The outbursts of the dwarf nova WZ Sagittae occur on timescales which are much longer than expected from the standard thermal viscous disc instability model, which correctly reproduces the outburst behaviour of many other dwarf novae. In…
It has long been accepted that a possible mechanism for explaining the existence of magnetic white dwarfs is the merger of a binary white dwarf system, as there are viable mechanisms for producing sustainable magnetic fields within the…
A growing number of debris discs have been detected around metal-polluted white dwarfs. They are thought to be originated from tidally disrupted exoplanetary bodies and responsible for metal accretion onto host WDs. To explain (1) the…
We examine the light curve of the July-August 2001 superoutburst of WZ Sagittae. During the decline from maximum light the locally defined decay time increases from ~4 d/mag to ~12 d/mag over the first ~15 d of the ~25 d superoutburst, as…
WZ Sge-type stars are an extreme subclass of dwarf novae characterised by very rare, large-amplitude superoutbursts. Within the disc instability model (DIM), such events are explained as being triggered by enhanced mass transfer from the…
The disc instability model (DIM) has been very successful in explaining the dwarf nova outbursts observed in cataclysmic variables. When, as in intermediate polars (IP), the accreting white dwarf is magnetized, the disc is truncated at the…
We examine published observations of dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) on the rise and decline of outbursts and show that their rates of change are in reasonable agreement with those predicted from the magnetic accretion model. We find…
WZ Sge-type dwarf novae form one of the most intriguing classes of compact accreting binaries. They are recognized as the most evolved population of hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables. Yet they exhibit energetic disk-powered outbursts with…
Recurring outbursts associated with matter flowing onto compact stellar remnants (black-holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs) in close binary systems, provide strong test beds for constraining the poorly understood accretion process. The…
We numerically study the tidal instability of accretion discs in close binary systems using a two-dimensional SPH code. We find that the precession rate of tidally unstable, eccentric discs does not only depend upon the binary mass ratio q.…
WZ Sagittae is the prototype object of a subclass of dwarf novae, with rare and long (super)outbursts, in which a white dwarf primary accretes matter from a low mass companion. High-energy observations offer the possibility of a better…
We propose a simple explanation for the constant mean brightness observed between outbursts in dwarf novae. Secular changes in the total energy dissipation rate of the accretion disc brought about by variations in surface density,…
We discuss the possibility of observing the transient formation event of an accretion disk from the tidal destruction process of an asteroid near a white dwarf (WD). This scenario is commonly proposed as the explanation for dusty disks…
Dwarf novae are white dwarfs accreting matter from a nearby red dwarf companion. Their regular outbursts are explained by a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disc, described by the disc instability model that has since been…
We show that irradiation of the accretion disc by the white dwarf limits the occurrence of dwarf nova outbursts in post nova accretion discs. After the nova explosion, the white dwarf has to cool for up to ~100 yr - depending on the orbital…
Observational estimates of the lifetimes and inferred accretion rates from debris discs around polluted white dwarfs are often inconsistent with the predictions of models of shielded Poynting-Robertson drag on the dust particles in the…