Evidence for the Absence of a Stream-Disk Shock Interaction (Hot Spot) in Semi-Detached Binary Systems. Comparison of Numerical Simulation Results and Observations

Bisikalo, D. V.; Boyarchuk, A. A.; Kuznetsov, O. A.; Khruzina, T. S.; Cherepashchuk, A. M.; Chechetkin, V. M.

Evidence for the Absence of a Stream-Disk Shock Interaction (Hot Spot) in Semi-Detached Binary Systems. Comparison of Numerical Simulation Results and Observations

Authors

Description

The results of three-dimensional numerical simulations of the flow of matter in non-magnetic semidetached binary systems are presented. Self-consistent solutions indicate the absence of a shock interaction between the stream of matter flowing from the inner Lagrange point and the accretion disk (a "hot spot"). At the same time, the interaction between the stream and the common envelope of the system forms an extended shock wave along the edge of the stream, whose observational properties are roughly equivalent to those of a hot spot in the disk. Comparison of synethesized and observed light curves confirm the adequacy of the proposed model for the flow of matter without formation of a hot spot. The model makes it possible for the first time to reproduce the variety of the observed light curves of cataclysmic variables in the framework of a single model, without invoking additional assumptions.
LaTeX, 15 pages, 16 EPS figures, using AAS2PP4 style (included)