Cataclysmic Variables: The Most Common Gravity Powered Stars
John Thorstensen
Dartmouth College
Cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are close binaries in which a white dwarf
star accretes matter from a companion via Roche lobe overflow; they are the
white-dwarf analogues of the low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). CVs have a
rich phenomenology and show many astrophysically interesting effects. While
CVs are less exotic than LMXBs, and generally less luminous owing to their
relatively shallow gravitational wells, they are far more common, so there
are many relatively nearby examples available for detailed study. In this
brief review I will explore the elaborate phenomenology these objects
exhibit, and the taxonomy that results, and move on to consider how these
objects work physically and how they may have formed and evolved.
Date: | Vendredi, le 24 avril 2009 |
Heure: | 14:00 |
Lieu: | Université McGill |
| Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, room 326 |
|