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Time Dependence in Accretion Onto Magnetic White Dwarfs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Steven H. Langer
Affiliation:
Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of Illinois
G. Chanmugam
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lousiana State Univ.
G. Shaviv
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics, Israel Institute of Technology

Extract

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In this talk, we consider cataclysmic variable systems containing a white dwarf with a strong magnetic field. These include systems like AM Her (see, e.g., Chiappetti, Tanzi, and Treves 1981) in which the white dwarf rotates at the orbital period and systems such as AE Aquari in which the white dwarf rotates much faster than synchronously (see Patterson et al. 1980). The magnetic field in all of these systems is strong enough to disrupt the accretion disk at a point far above the surface of the white dwarf and may prevent the formation of a disk altogether. We will present theoretical models for the temperature, density, and velocity structure of the accretion flow in the region near the surface of the white dwarf where the kinetic energy of the flow is thermalized and radiated in the form of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. This information is required to calculate accurate model spectra, and the results also have immediate consequences for the interpretation of observations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1983

References

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