Cataclysmic Binary Star Systems - Astronomy’s Tragic Stellar Couples

Margaret J. Ferney
Dr. Timothy D. Wiser, Faculty Mentor

Cataclysmic binary star systems occur when two stars are orbiting each other, where one partner is a white dwarf stripping mass and angular momentum from its partner star. These systems provide valuable information about stars as a whole, but how do we learn about the systems that provide such information? I seek to answer this question with a review of papers about these cataclysmic systems– what processes we use to understand these cataclysmic systems. I compare the results of modeling and computational techniques to observations from telescopes and space missions: their strengths and weaknesses and how they work together or where discrepancies creep in for three well studied systems. Additionally, I expand on how these stars contribute to astronomy, what these valuable parameters are and why they are specific to these types of stars. 

Keywords: Cataclysmic Variable, Stars, Stellar, Binary Systems

Topic(s):Astronomy
Physics

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA