LTE model atmospheres for accreting white dwarfs

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Atmospheric Models, Cataclysmic Variables, Stellar Atmospheres, Stellar Mass Accretion, Thermodynamic Equilibrium, White Dwarf Stars, Black Body Radiation, Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation, Radiation Pressure, Stellar Models, Stellar Spectra, Stellar Temperature, X Ray Spectra

Scientific paper

Results are presented from self-consistent atmosphere calculations appropriate for the optically thick regions of accretion flows onto white dwarfs, and which can be used to model the observed soft X-ray/EUV spectra of cataclysmic variables. The calculations take into account irradiation by hard X-rays from other parts of the accretion flow, and the pressure of the accretion flow itself. It is shown that radiation pressure limits the effective temperature Teff of stable atmospheres to kTeff less than about 40 eV, depending on the white-dwarf mass: the approximation that the atmosphere is fully ionized and that the Eddington limit applies is shown to be incorrect. It is found that blackbody fits to the soft X-ray continua of the atmospheres consistently overstimate Teff, but underestimate the emitting area, in such a way that the total luminosity of the soft X-ray component is usually misestimated only by factors of about 2. The implications for the soft X-ray excess of magnetic cataclysmic variables are considered.

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