The evolution of viscous discs - I. Mass transfer variations

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Abstract
A method for treating the time-dependent evolution of accretion discs in mass-transferring binaries is described. We apply the method to study the evolution into a steady disc following turn-on of mass transfer at a constant rate on to a white dwarf. The final steady-state is in agreement with analytic α-disc solutions. The effect of high mass-transfer-rate bursts by the companion star is studied, and compared with the eruptions of dwarf novae. We conclude that the overall outburst properties of dwarf novae are satisfactorily reproduced by bursting mass-transfer and that α ∼ 1 for this model.