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OATS-UNI/TS SEMINAR
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Speaker: Linda Schmidtobreick (ESO, Chile)

Title: Constraining the evolution of Cataclysmic Variables with SW Sex stars and old novae
Date: Tuesday, March 25th, 2014
Time: 11:30
Venue: Villa Bazzoni
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AbstractFrom a large observing campaign, we find that nearly all non- or weakly magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) in the orbital period range between 2.8 and 4 hours are of SW Sex type and as such experience very high mass transfer rates. As the evolution of CVs is driven by angular momentum loss which results in a decrease of the orbital period, all long-period CVs need to cross the SW Sex regime of the orbital period distribution before entering the period gap. This makes the SW Sex phenomenon an evolutionary phase in the life of a cataclysmic variable. On the other hand, some old novae in this period range which are expected to show high mass transfer rate instead resemble low-mass transfer systems like dwarf novae. I will discuss them as candidates for so-called hibernating systems, CVs that changed their mass transfer behaviour due to a previously experienced nova outburst.
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Contact: Elena Mason (OATS)