Duration of irradiation-driven enhanced accretion

Determine the timescale over which nova irradiation of the donor star can sustain enhanced mass-accretion rates after eruption.

Background

The paper discusses a feedback mechanism in which the hot white dwarf and inner accretion disk irradiate the donor star, causing donor heating, expansion, or wind loss and thereby enhancing mass transfer. The enhanced transfer may remain self-sustaining for centuries or longer, but the duration depends on donor structure and orbital evolution. The authors explicitly identify the underlying timescale as uncertain.