The large-scale accretion flow in the intermediate polars (IPs) is still a matter of vigorous debate. It is known that the magnetic field of the white dwarf (WD) controls the accretion flow close to the surface, channeling the plasma onto the polecaps and giving rise to X-ray emission modulated at the WD spin period (Pspin). After their discovery it was assumed that IPs were the WD analogues of the pulsing X-ray binaries, where a magnetic neutron star accretes from a disrupted accretion disc. However, a number of authors have pointed out that the criteria for disc formation in IPs are less certain than those for the X-ray binaries.

The simplest possible criterion for disc formation in a binary is that the accretion flow should be able to orbit freely about the primary star (see Frank, King & Raine 1991 for a review). In non-magnetic systems this is merely the condition that the minimum approach distance of the free stream (Rmin) should exceed the radius of the primary. The situation in magnetic systems is more complex, as the magnetic field of the primary presents an obstacle to the infalling accretion stream. In many treatments of IPs it is assumed that the plasma stream is able to orbit freely about the WD until the ram pressure of the stream is of the same order as the magnetic pressure ρv2 ~ B2/8π, where ρ is the stream density, v the stream velocity and B the local magnetic field strength. This condition fixes the magnetospheric radius, Rmag, inside which the magnetic field is assumed to thread the stream material and direct the accretion flow along the fieldlines.