Observational comparison of Cataclysmic Variables and low-mass X-ray binaries

Abstract

I present an observational comparison between two classes of variable stars: Cataclysmic Variables and Low-mass X-ray Binaries. Both are heavily studied for hosting an excellent laboratory for accretion processes. Observing them is a way to gain evidence of events that occur in these systems. These events include outburst states of the disk, thermonuclear bursts and variations of the disk structure caused by magnetic fields. The comparison shows that similar processes take place in both kinds of systems, albeit at different scales. This makes an important link in the research of Cataclysmic Variables and Low-mass X-ray Binaries, as Low-mass X-ray Binaries are rarer than Cataclysmic Variables. Knowledge of Cataclysmic Variables can be applied to Low-mass X-ray Binaries, which further advances the study of accretion, or even protostars and active galactic nuclei.