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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Classical nova outbursts are thermonuclear explosions on the surfaces of the white dwarfs in cataclysmic variables. The explosion heats the surface layers of the white dwarf, which are expected to cool on a timescale of a hundred years. The hot white dwarf should have two obvious effects on the system.
(1) It will heat the surface of the accretion disc and secondary star, increasing the overall luminosity of the system.
(2) By irradiating the surface of the secondary star it may bloat it and drive more mass transfer, thus again increasing the overall luminosity.