The magnetic field and orbital period distributions of AM Herculis binaries are investigated. Our study shows that (i) there is a significant lack of very-high-field magnetic white dwarfs in binaries when compared with isolated white dwarfs, and (ii) the difference between the period distributions of AM Herculis binaries and other cataclysmic variable subclasses is statistically significant. These results imply that the evolution and the birth of AM Herculis binaries are different from those of other cataclysmic variables.

We present spectropolarimetric observations of the eclipsing cataclysmic variable 1H1752+08. Modelling of the line intensity and polarisation spectra of 1H1752+08 shows that the magnetic field structure of the white dwarf is off-centre and the mean photospheric field strength is about 7 MG, the lowest measured in a cataclysmic variable (CV). We argue that 1H1752+08 is most probably a low-field AM Herculis system.

We investigate irradiation-driven mass transfer in cataclysmic variables in the presence of shielding of the radiation by an accretion disk. We have shown that the shielding can cause a temporal drop of 3–5 magnitudes in the brightness of systems with orbital periods shorter than about 4 hr. This provides a possible explanation for the brightness variations in the VY Scl stars.

We present near-infrared spectroscopic observations over the wavelength range 0·9 to 2·5 μm of the AM Herculis system BL Hyi. During these observations, broad and resolvable cyclotron emission harmonics were visible near 1·25, 1·60 and 2·20 μm. We have interpreted these features as arising from a cyclotron emission region located near the white dwarf’s polar cap of magnetic field strength B p = 23 MG.

We present the results of simulations that explore the variety of accretion flows possible in magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs). Our simulations evolve to equilibrium periods spanning 0.01 < Рspin/Рorb < 0.6 and the resulting flows vary from disc-fed systems at Рspin/Рorb ~ 0.01 - 0.1, to stream fed systems at Рspin/Рorb ~ 0.1 - 0.5 and systems fed from a ring at the outer edge of the white dwarf's Roche lobe at Рspin/Рorb ~ 0.6.

The stellar evolutionary processes responsible for the formation of compact objects in interacting binary systems and their evolution are described. The common envelope phase plays a crucial role in their formation and angular momentum losses associated with magnetic braking and/or mass loss are important for their evolution. An application of these processes provides the evolutionary link between classes of interacting binary systems.

We present first results from a coordinated multiwavelength study of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748 676. Fast UV, X-ray, and optical data were obtained including both spectral and timing information. We discuss how this study allows us to probe the temperature distribution within the binary and hence the geometry and efficiency of X-ray irradiation.

We have obtained FUSE spectra of several dwarf novae which reveal the properties of their accreting white dwarfs, their rates of accretion during quiescence and the nature of their boundary layer/inner disk regions including accretion belts on the white dwarfs. Among the systems for which preliminary results will be presented are BV Cen, WW Ceti, EY Cyg, SS Aur and VW Hyi. The contribution of these FUSE studies to our understanding of disk accretion physics will be emphasized within the context of the white dwarf and boundary layer.

The eclipsing supersoft X-ray binary CAL 87 has been observed with Chandra on August 13/14, 2001 for nearly 100 ksec, covering two full orbital cycles and three eclipses. The shape of the eclipse light curve derived from the zeroth-order photons indicates that the size of the X-ray emission region is about 1.5 R⊙. The ACIS/LETG spectrum is completely dominated by emission lines without any noticeable continuum. The brightest emission lines are significantly redshifted and double-peaked, suggestive of emanating in a 2000 km/s wind. We model the X-ray spectrum by a mixture of recombination and resonant scattering. This allows us to deduce the temperature and luminosity of the ionizing source to be kT ~ 50 — 100 eV and Lx ~ 5 x 1037 erg/s.

A new self-sustained model for long-term light-curve variations of the supersoft X-ray sources RX J0513.9–6951 and V Sge is proposed based on an optically thick wind model of mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs). When the mass accretion rale to a WD exceeds the critical rate of ~ 1 x 10–1M⊙. yr–1, optically thick strong winds begin to blow from the WD so that a formation of common envelope is avoided. The WD can accrete and burn hydrogen-rich matter on the surface of the WD at the critical rate. The excess matter transferred to the WD above the critical rate is expelled by winds. This is called “accretion wind evolution.” This ejection process, however, occurs intermittently because the mass transfer is attenuated by strong winds: the strong winds collide with the secondary surface and strip oil the surface layer of the secondary. Properly formulating the mass-stripping effect and the ensuing decay of mass-transfer rate, we are able to reproduce the transition between the optical high/X-ray off and optical low/X-ray -on states of the supersoft X-ray sources RX J0513.9–6951 and V Sge. Thus these two objects are the lirst examples of accretion wind evolution, which is a key evolutionary process in a recently developed evolutionary path to Type la supernovae.