About CVs

Cataclysmic Variable Stars are binary stars in which one of the two members is a white dwarf. They are in close orbits with periods of ~ hours, and the main sequence star is transferring mass to the white dwarf. These systems are sometimes discovered when the mass falling onto the surface of the white dwarf undergoes a runaway thermonuclear explosion, creating a "Dwarf Novae" (in contrast to "Super Novae", which occur at the end of the life of high mass stars) and causing them to increase in brightness. Since these objects are orbiting, their light curves vary on timescales equal to their orbital period. In addition, the complex environment of the system can involve an accretion disk, magnetic fields, hot spots on both the star and the disk, and other phenomena which also exhibit periodic behavior. It is this periodic behavior that the MCARG has been using to contribute to the understanding of these astronomical sources.