Year: 1996
Type: article
Abstract: Dwarf nova outbursts are likely caused by a thermal-viscous instability in the accretion disk around the white dwarf, which can occur if the mass transfer rate, , is below a critical value (which depends on orbital period). Based on data for soft X-ray transients and persistent low-mass X-ray binaries with known distances and orbital periods, P orb , I show that for these systems the distributions in a ( P orb , ) diagram can be understood with the dwarf nova instability criterion, if that is adapted to include X-ray heating of the disk. This supports the idea that the disk instability model applies to soft X-ray transients, and shows that X-ray heating must be included in modeling the outbursts.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/310100
Author: J. van Paradijs
Institutions: University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2166593630