Related papers: The SW Sextantis stars
SW Sextantis stars are a class of cataclysmic variables originally defined via certain peculiar properties that they all have in common. In this article, I review our knowledge of these stars and show the way from a phenomenological…
The population of cataclysmic variables with orbital periods right above the period gap are dominated by systems with extremely high mass transfer rates, the so-called SW Sextantis stars. On the other hand, some old novae in this period…
The SW Sextantis stars are a group of cataclysmic variables with distinctive observational characteristics, including absorption features in the emission line cores at phases 0.2-0.6. Hellier and Robinson have proposed that these features…
We present 14 nights of medium resolution (1-2\AA) spectroscopy of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable UU Aquarii obtained during a high accretion state in 1995 August-October. UU Aqr appears to be an SW Sextantis star, as noted by Baptista,…
SW Sextantis systems are nova-like cataclysmic variables that have unusual spectroscopic properties, which are thought to be caused by an accretion geometry having part of the mass flux trajectory out of the orbital plane. Accretion onto a…
UV spectra of the magnetic accretor AO Psc show absorption features for half the binary orbit. The absorption is unlike the wind-formed features often seen in similar stars. Instead, we attribute it to a fraction of the stream that…
From a large observing campaign, we found that nearly all non- or weakly magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the orbital period range between 2.8 and 4 hours are of SW Sex type and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. The…
We present the 45-yr record of EX Hya's lightcurve and discuss the characteristics of its 15 observed outbursts. We then concentrate on the 1998 outburst, reporting the first outburst X-ray observations. We discover an X-ray beat-cycle…
We present low-resolution spectrophotometric optical observations of the eclipsing nova-like cataclysmic variable SW Sex, the prototype of the SW Sex stars. We observed the system when it was in an unusual low state. The spectrum is…
We show that the absence of outbursts during low states of VY Scl stars is easily explained if white dwarfs in these systems are weakly magnetized ($\mu \gta 5 10^{30}$ G cm$^{3}$). However, some of the VY Scl stars are observed to have…
How are accretion discs affected by their outflows? To address this question for white dwarfs accreting from cool giants, we performed optical, radio, X-ray, and ultraviolet observations of the outflow-driving symbiotic star MWC 560 (=V694…
The SW Sextantis stars are novalike cataclysmic variables (CVs) which exhibit intricate behaviour which is still a matter of debate. For years the common belief has been that these systems were the``outlaws'' of the CVs, mainly because of…
In AE Aqr, magnetic fields transfer energy and angular momentum from a rapidly spinning white dwarf to material in the gas stream from the companion star, with the effect of spinning down the white dwarf while flinging the gas stream…
X-ray pulsars shine thanks to the conversion of the gravitational energy of accreted material to X-ray radiation. The accretion rate is modulated by geometrical and hydrodynamical effects in the stellar wind of the pulsar companions and/or…
We present spectrophotometry of the eclipsing nova-like variable SW Sex. The continuum is deeply eclipsed and shows asymmetries due to the presence of a bright spot. We derive a new ephemeris and, by measuring the eclipse width, we are able…
All eclipsing nova-likes in the 2.8-4h orbital period range belong to the group of SW Sex stars, and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. Since the physical properties of a star should be independent of the inclination it is…
We present a model for the rotational evolution of a young, solar-mass star interacting magnetically with an accretion disk. As in a previous paper (Paper I), the model includes changes in the star's mass and radius as it descends the…
We present evidence that recurrent spiral activity, long manifested in simulations of disk galaxies, results from the super-position of a few transient spiral modes. Each mode lasts between 5 and 10 rotations at its corotation radius where…
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients are obviously related to persistent Supergiant X-ray Binaries. Any convincing explanation for their behaviour must consistently take into account all types of X-ray sources powered by wind accretion. Here we…
We have undertaken a photometric study of the SW Sex star, PX And. We clearly identify a negative superhump signal which might be regarded as the signature of a nodal precessing disc, possibly warped. PX And is also observed to possess…