Related papers: Observing the Accretion Stream in Polars
RXTE observed 20 eclipse egresses of the intermediate polar XY Ari in order to study the size and structure of the X-ray emitting accretion regions. The spin-phase averaged egress lasts 26 s, implying a white dwarf radius of 4.3-7.0 10^8…
The stages before the formation of stars in molecular clouds are poorly understood. Insights can be gained by studying the properties of quiescent clouds, such as their magnetic field structure. The plane-of-the-sky orientation of the field…
We present new cooling models for carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with both H- and He-atmospheres, covering the whole relevant mass range, to extend our updated BaSTI (a Bag of Stellar Tracks and Isochrones) stellar evolution archive. They have…
Most observations of polluted white dwarf atmospheres are consistent with accretion of water depleted planetary material. Among tens of known cases, merely two cases involve accretion of objects that contain a considerable mass fraction of…
We present high-speed, three-colour photometry of the eclipsing cataclysmic variables GY Cnc, IR Com and HT Cas. We find that the sharp eclipses in GY Cnc and IR Com are due to eclipses of the white dwarf. There is some evidence for a…
We compute the emergent stellar spectra from the UV to far infrared for different viewing angles using realistic 3D model atmospheres for a large range in stellar parameters to predict the stellar limb darkening. We have computed full 3D…
White dwarfs are the dense, burnt-out remnants of the vast majority of stars, condemned to cool over billions of years as they steadily radiate away their residual thermal energy. To first order, their atmosphere is expected to be made…
In spite of a large number of global three-dimensional (3D) magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of accretion flows and jets being made recently, their astrophysical relevance for realistic situations is not well known. In order to…
We investigate radiatively inefficient accretion flow models for Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in our Galactic Center, in light of new observational constraints. Confirmation of linear polarization in the submm emission argues for…
We derive analytic, closed form, numerically stable solutions for the total flux received from a spherical planet, moon or star during an occultation if the specific intensity map of the body is expressed as a sum of spherical harmonics.…
Measurements of accretion rates onto planetary mass objects may distinguish between different planet formation mechanisms, which predict different accretion histories. In this Letter, we use \HST/WFC3 UVIS optical photometry to measure…
Understanding nonthermal particle generation, transport, and escape in solar flares requires detailed quantification of the particle evolution in the realistic 3D domain where the flare takes place. Rather surprisingly, apart of standard…
High-resolution observations with GRAVITY-VLTI instrument have provided abundant information about the flares in Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in our Galactic center, including the time-dependent location of the centroid (a "hot…
The atmospheres of a large proportion of white dwarf stars are polluted by heavy elements that are expected to sink out of visible layers on short timescales. This has been interpreted as a signature of ongoing accretion of debris from…
The tomographic method "Physical Parameter Eclipse Mapping" is a tool to reconstruct spatial distributions of physical parameters (like temperatures and surface densities) in accretion discs of cataclysmic variables. After summarizing the…
Many stars -- if they could be imaged with enough angular resolution -- would exhibit features expected from theory but not possible to extract from spectra. We may group these by increasing complexity as follows. First, smooth variations…
We study polarization from scattering of light on a cloud in radial motion along the symmetry axis of an accretion disk. Radiation drag from the disk and gravitational attraction of the central black hole are taken into account, as well as…
Accreting white dwarfs are often found in close binary systems with orbital periods ranging from tens of minutes to several hours. In most cases, the accretion process is relatively steady, with significant modulations only occurring on…
Compact binaries have long been a paradigm for accretion theory. Much of our present view of how accretion occurs comes directly from the comparison of theory with observations of these sources. Since theory differs little for other objects…
We present the results of near continuous TESS optical observations of the asynchronous polar CD Ind (RX J2115-5840). The 27.9 d long light curve, with 2 min resolution, reveals remarkable changes in the magnetic accretion geometry of the…