Parallax and Distance Estimates for Fourteen Cataclysmic Variable Stars

I used the 2.4 m Hiltner telescope at MDM Observatory in an attempt to measure trigonometric parallaxes for 14 cataclysmic variable stars. Techniques are described in detail. In the best cases the parallax uncertainties are below 1 mas, and significant parallaxes are found for most of the program stars. A Bayesian method which combines the parallaxes together with proper motions and absolute magnitude constraints is developed and used to derive distance estimates and confidence intervals. The most precise distance derived here is for WZ Sge, for which I find 43.3 (+1.6, -1.5) pc. Six Luyten Half-Second stars with previous precise parallax measurements were re-measured to test the techniques, and good agreement is found.Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures. Astronomical Journal, accepte

Infrared Properties of Cataclysmic Variables from 2MASS: Results from the 2nd Incremental Data Release

Because accretion-generated luminosity dominates the radiated energy of most cataclysmic variables, they have been ``traditionally'' observed primarily at short wavelengths. Infrared observations of cataclysmic variables contribute to the understanding of key system components that are expected to radiate at these wavelengths, such as the cool outer disk, accretion stream, and secondary star. We have compiled the J, H, and Ks photometry of all cataclysmic variables located in the sky coverage of the 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) 2nd Incremental Data Release. This data comprises 251 systems with reliably identified near-IR counterparts and S/N > 10 photometry in one or more of the three near-IR bands.Comment: 2 pages, including 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of The Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects, Goettingen, Germany. For our followup ApJ paper (in press), also see http://www.ctio.noao.edu/~hoard/research/2mass/index.htm

The Dwarf Novae During Quiescence

We present a synthetic spectral analysis of nearly the entire FUV IUE archive of spectra of DNe in or near quiescence. We have examined all of the systems for which S/N permitted an analysis. The study includes 53 systems of all DN subtypes both above and below the period gap. The spectra were uniformly analyzed using synthetic spectral codes for optically thick accretion disks and stellar photospheres along with the best-available distance measurements or estimates. We present newly determined approximate WD temperatures or upper limits and estimated accretion rates. The average temperature of WDs in DNe below the period gap is ~18,000K. For WDs in DNe above the period gap, the average WD temperature is ~26,000K. There is a flux component, in addition to a WD photosphere, which contributes >60% of the flux in the FUV in 53% of the quiescent DNe in this study. We find that for 41% of the DNe in our sample, a WD photosphere provides >60% of the FUV flux. Accretion rates estimated from the FUV alone for the sample of DNe during quiescence ranged from 10^-12 Msun/yr to 10^-10 Msun/yr.The additional flux component is almost certainly not an optically thick accretion disk since, according to the disk instability model, the disk should be optically thin and too cool during DN quiescence to be a significant FUV continuum emitter. Among the candidates for the second component of FUV light are the quiescent inner disk, a hot equatorial accretion belt, and a hot rotating ring. The implications of our study for disk accretion physics and CV evolution are discussed.Comment: 36 pages, 3 tables, 8 figures, final accepted version of manuscrip

Managing Democracy? Assessing Some of the Outcomes of Australian Local Government Reform

In the course of the early to mid-1990s, each of Australia's six states introduced revised legislation which changed substantially the nature of their local government systems. The thrust of these changes was sufficiently similar across jurisdictions to indicate the emergence of a nation-wide perspective of the reform process. The substance of the reforms was directed predominantly at reducing the cost of local government service delivery and improving efficiency and effectiveness of operation. As such they constituted a vital ingredient of the broader microeconomic reform context which engulfed Australia's public sectors during the mid-1980s. Though the Australian local government arena is small by international standards - it only accounts for about five per cent of total government expenditure and employs some 140,000 people - it came to be viewed by both state and federal authorities as a critical component in the building of the nation's infrastructure framework