Recent progress in understanding the eruptions of classical novae

Abstract

The physical processes generating nova eruptions are reviewed, along with the effects on nova eruptions of binary-system parameters such as the chemical composition or mass of the white dwarf and the mass accretion rate. Also considered are the possible metamorphosis from dwarf to classical novae and back again, X-ray and gamma-ray emission from novae, and the characteristics and distributions of novae in globular clusters and extragalactic systems. Limitations of the thermonuclear runaway model are discussed.