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14-03-2019
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Colloquium - Short lived accretion states in magnetic cataclysmic variables (and other systems)

Submitter: Mark Kennedy
Description: The accretion structures which exists in interacting binary systems are complex and, as highlighted by the discovery of the transitional millisecond pulsasrs, highly variable. While accretion in black hole binaries and neutron star binaries is dominated by accretion discs within these systems, the scenario in binaries hosting white dwarf primaries (cataclysmic variables) is significantly complicated by the large magnetic moment of the white dwarf. Alongside typical accretion discs, these systems also host accretion curtains, columns, and even magnetic propellers. In this talk, I will discuss the insights from long term monitoring of such systems by Kepler and TESS, and how their accretion structures change over time. I will also discuss how this work is related to the "spiders" type of neutron star binaries, where low mass companion stars are being ablated by a millisecond pulsar, and promising new work which is focused on discovering more of these systems in variable accretion states.
Copyright: Colloquium
 
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