Related papers: Dwarf Novae at Low Mass Transfer Rates
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…
Novae are the observational manifestations of thermonuclear runaways on the surface of accreting white dwarfs (WDs). Although novae are an ubiquitous phenomenon, their properties at low metallicity are not well understood. Using the…
The disk instability model attributes the outbursts of dwarf novae to a thermal-viscous instability of their accretion disk, an instability to which nova-like stars are not subject. We aim to test the fundamental prediction of the disk…
We describe recent theoretical work on the final stage of accretion when material passes from an accretion disk onto a white dwarf surface. Our calculations focus on understanding the latitudinal spreading and differentially rotating…
Dwarf nova outbursts often show coherent ($Q\sim10^4-10^6$) sinusoidal oscillations with the largest pulsed fraction in the extreme ultraviolet. Called dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs), they have periods of $P\approx3-40 {\rm s}$ and scale…
When a white dwarf (WD) is weakly magnetized and its accretion disk is thin, accreted material first reaches the WD's surface at its equator. This matter slows its orbit as it comes into co-rotation with the WD, dissipating kinetic energy…
The disc instability mechanism (DIM) is widely accepted to account for the transient behaviour of dwarf novae (DNe), which experience short outbursts separated by long quiescence. The duty cycle (the ratio between the outburst duration and…
Context. Although the disc instability model is widely accepted as the explanation for dwarf nova outbursts, it is still necessary to confront its predictions to observations because much of the constraints on angular momentum transport in…
Our understanding of the structure and properties of accretion disks in quiescent Dwarf Novae and X-ray Transients is very limited. Observations during quiescence challenge some of the standard Disk Instability Model (DIM) predictions. Our…
WZ Sge-type dwarf novae are characterized by long recurrence times of outbursts (~10 yr) and short orbital periods (<~ 85 min). A significant part of WZ Sge stars may remain undiscovered because of low outburst activity. Recently, the…
Accretion disks in white dwarf systems are believed to be tilted. In a recent publication, the lift force has been suggested to be a source to disk tilt, a source that is likely relevant to all accretion disk systems. Lift is generated by…
I review various phenomena associated with mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in the view of supersoft X-ray sources. When the mass-accretion rate is low (\dot M_{acc} < a few \times 10^{-7} M_\sun yr^{-1}), hydrogen nuclear burning is…
Supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) are characterized by persistent thermonuclear burning on the surfaces of white dwarfs (WDs).The standard model requires high mass transfer rates of $\sim 10^{-7}\, {\rm M_{\odot}}\,yr^{-1}$ from massive…
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.…
We report results of the eclipse mapping analysis of an ensemble of light curves of HT Cas. The fast response of the white dwarf to the increase in mass transfer rate, the expansion rate of the accretion disc at the same time, and the…
The short-period cataclysmic variable WZ Sge underwent its first dwarf nova outburst in 23 years in 2001 July. Here we describe 905-1187 Ang. spectra obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) during the outburst and…
I review the basics of the disc instability model (DIM) for dwarf novae and soft-X-ray transients and its most recent developments, as well as the current limitations of the model, focusing on the dwarf nova case. Although the DIM uses the…
The results of 3D modelling of the flow structure in the classical symbiotic system Z~Andromedae are presented. Outbursts in systems of this type occur when the accretion rate exceeds the upper limit of the steady burning range. Therefore,…
Archival data on permanent superhump systems are compiled to test the thermal stability of their accretion discs. We find that their discs are almost certainly thermally stable as expected. This result confirms Osaki's suggestion (1996)…
The observed properties of novae before and after eruption are discussed. The distribution of orbital periods of novae shows a concentration near 3.2 h, which resembles that of magnetic cataclysmic variables, and there is some evidence that…