Abstract:
A pulsating white dwarf was first
discovered in a cataclysmic variable GW Librae in 1998. The number of
pulsating accreting white dwarfs has increased since then to 12 known
today.
With the goal of establishing an instability
strip or strips for these pulsating accretors, we have acquired HST
ultra-violet time-series spectroscopy of a handful of these systems.
This enables us to measure the effective temperature of the white dwarf
along with an attempt to use the pulsation information in the light
curve to add useful constraints on the system. I will be telling you
about our surprising discoveries during the course of this project as
to the distinct nature of these pulsating accretors compared to their
non-interacting counterparts.