ULTRACAM photometry of eclipsing cataclysmic variable stars

TL;DR

This paper uses ULTRACAM high-speed photometry to analyze eclipsing cataclysmic variable stars, enabling precise mass measurements and detailed accretion disc mapping to improve understanding of their physics.

Contribution

It presents new high-speed photometric observations of six eclipsing dwarf novae, facilitating improved mass estimates and accretion disc structure analysis.

Findings

Accurate mass measurements of the studied systems.

Detailed brightness distribution maps of accretion discs.

Enhanced understanding of accretion physics in eclipsing systems.

Abstract

The accurate determination of the masses of cataclysmic variable stars is critical to our understanding of their origin, evolution and behaviour. Observations of cataclysmic variables also afford an excellent opportunity to constrain theoretical physical models of the accretion discs housed in these systems. In particular, the brightness distributions of the accretion discs of eclipsing systems can be mapped at a spatial resolution unachievable in any other astrophysical situation. This thesis addresses both of these important topics via the analysis of the light curves of six eclipsing dwarf novae, obtained using ULTRACAM, a novel high-speed imaging photometer.