Topic summary
Cataclysmic variables
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cataclysmic variable star.
Classification
Cataclysmic variables are subdivided into several smaller groups, often named after a bright prototype star characteristic of the class. In some cases, the magnetic field of the white dwarf is strong enough to disrupt the inner accretion disk or even prevent disk formation altogether. Magnetic systems often show strong and variable polarization in their optical light, and are therefore sometimes called polars; these often exhibit small-amplitude brightness fluctuations at what is presumed to be the white dwarf's period of rotation.