1983/09/01 by J. Smak · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
paper · doi:10.1086/161284
Observational data on mass transfer rates and radii of disks indicate that the outer parts of disks in novae and nova-like binaries are sufficiently hot for stationary accretion; those in dwarf novae are too cool to avoid an accretion instability; while those in Z Cam systems are the borderline cases. The mass ratios of novae and nova-like binaries with main-sequence secondaries appear - at a given orbital period - to be systematically larger than those of dwarf novae, implying that higher mass ratios are responsible for higher mass transfer rates.