Related papers: What We Learn from Quantitative Ultraviolet Spectr…
HST and FUSE have provided high signal-to-noise, high-resolution spectra of a variety of cataclysmic variables and have allowed a detailed characterization of FUV emission sources in both high and low states. Here, I describe how this has…
Ultraviolet observations using the Solar Blind Channel on the Hubble Space Telescope provide light curves and low resolution spectra of three pulsating white dwarfs in the cataclysmic variables SDSS013132.39-090122.3,…
We present an online catalog containing spectra and supporting information for cataclysmic variables that have been observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). For each object in the catalog we list some of the basic…
Taking advantage of the now available Gaia EDR3 parallaxes, we carry out an archival {\it Hubble Space Telescope} (HST) far ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis of 10 cataclysmic variable systems, including 5 carefully selected eclipsing…
We report on the spectroscopic confirmation of 68 new bright ($G=13.5-17.2$ mag) and blue (pre-)white dwarfs (WDs). This finding has allowed us to almost double the number of the hottest ($T_{\mathrm{eff}} \geq 60$kK) known WDs brighter…
We present a synthetic spectral analysis of Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) spectra of 5 dwarf novae above and below the period gap during quiescence.…
During its lifetime, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) was used to observe 99 cataclysmic variables in 211 separate observations. Here, we present a survey of the moderate resolution (R\simeq10,000), far-ultraviolet (905 -…
Chemical abundances studies of cataclysmic variables have revealed high nitrogen to carbon ratios in a number of of cataclysmic variable white dwarfs (based on ultraviolet emission and absorption lines), as well as possible carbon…
In this study, we demonstrate the efficacy of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) in identifying and characterizing white dwarfs (WDs) within the Milky Way Galaxy. Leveraging the UVIT point source catalogue towards SMC and…
How confident are we that all of the nearest white dwarfs (WDs) have been identified? In an effort to answer this question, we have begun an initiative to identify and characterize new nearby WDs, particularly in the southern hemisphere. We…
We present phase-resolved spectroscopy of the short period cataclysmic variable WZ Sge obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. We were able to resolve the orbital motion of a number of absorption lines that likely probe the environment…
Observations of U Gem with FUSE confirm that the WD is heated by the outburst and cools during quiescence. At the end of an outburst, the best uniform temperature WD model fits to the data indicate a temperature of 41,000 - 47,000 K, while…
Current evolutionary models imply that most Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) have P_orb<2 hours and are Dwarf Nova (DN) systems that are quiescent most of the time. Observations of nearby quiescent DN find that the UV spectrum is dominated by…
We have obtained HST/STIS data for a total of eleven polars as part of a program aimed to compile a homogeneous database of high-quality far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectra for a large number of cataclysmic variables (CVs). Of the eleven polars,…
We present the science case for characterizing the nature of the first stars using the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). High-resolution ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy with the HWO has the potential to confirm any surviving low-mass…
Studies of debris disks around white dwarfs (WDs) have focused on infrared wavelengths because debris disks are much colder than the star and are believed to contribute to the spectrum only at longer wavelengths. Nevertheless, these disks…
Our recent theoretical work (Townsley and Bildsten 2002) on the thermal state of white dwarfs (WDs) in low mass transfer rate binaries allows us to predict the broadband colors of the binary from those of the WD and companion when the disk…
Recent Kepler photometry has revealed that about half of white dwarfs (WDs) have periodic, low-level (~ 1e-4 - 1e-3), optical variations. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ultraviolet spectroscopy has shown that up to about one half of WDs are…
Accreting white dwarfs (WDs) constitute a significant fraction of the hard X-ray sources detected by the INTEGRAL observatory. Most of them are magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) of the intermediate polar (IP) and polar types, but the…
Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are semi-detached binaries composed of a white dwarf orbiting a lower-mass K or M star. We investigate whether CVs are responsible for a new intriguing feature (the `hook') that appears in the Gaia DR3…