Observing Cataclysmic Variables in Narrow Band Photometric Surveys

Alessandro Ederoclite (CEFCA)

 

Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are stellar binary systems made of a white dwarf which is accreting mass from a less evolved companion. Depending on the physical parameters of the system, the phenomenology of CVs can be very diverse. Historically, CVs have been mostly discovered serendipitously due to their variability but, more recently, a large fraction of objects has been discovered through quasar-aimed multi-band optical surveys. This has lead us to have a very heterogeneous sample of objects, for which it is difficult to derive common properties. In this talk, I will first briefly review CVs as astrophysical systems, how they are discovered and how they can be confused with other astrophysical objects. I will then focus on how wide-field narrow-band photometric surveys can lead to build a much more homogeneous sample, a crucial tool to study the evolution of these sources in the framework of stellar (and galaxy) evolution (also as progenitors of type Ia supernovae).