Cataclysmic Variables

 

 

Cataclysmic Variables are close binaries separated by about the diameter of the sun that consist of a white dwarf primary and a late main-sequence secondary that transfers mass to the white dwarf. If the magnetic field of the white dwarf is under a MG, the transferred material forms into an accretion disk. The systems with accretion disks are divided into nova, dwarf novae or novalikes and likely represent different stages in the lifetime of a CV. If the magnetic field of the white dwarf is tens-hundreds of MG, the material follows the magnetic field lines to the magnetic pole and these systems are called AM Her stars or Polars.