Hi everyone! 👋
I’m working on my Master’s thesis about modeling Nova-like variable stars using PHOEBE to analyze and fit their light curves.

Has anyone else used PHOEBE for modeling accretion disks or star spots? I’d love to hear how you approached it! 🌟

PHOEBE is commonly used for star spot modeling, since is natively supports parameters like spot latitude, size and temperature contrast.

For accretion disks PHOEBE has only limited support - users often approximate the disk using third light components or external custom scripts, since the current version doesn’t fully model disk geometry or emission

Nice work! I’ve used PHOEBE 2 for modeling nova-like and CV systems — it handles disks fairly well, though getting realistic temperature gradients can be tricky. I’d suggest adjusting disk thickness and temperature profiles manually. Also, including irradiation effects can really improve the fit for high-inclination systems.

I haven’t used PHOEBE myself, but your project sounds really interesting!

I’ve read that it’s quite powerful for modeling complex systems like accretion disks — would love to hear about your results later!

11 hours ago, Daniyar said:

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m working on my Master’s thesis about modeling Nova-like variable stars using PHOEBE to analyze and fit their light curves.

Has anyone else used PHOEBE for modeling accretion disks or star spots? I’d love to hear how you approached it! 🌟

Hi! 👋
Yes, I’ve used PHOEBE for modeling close binaries and systems with accretion disks — it’s a really powerful tool, though it takes some time to get used to the parameters. For disks, I found it helpful to start with simple geometries and gradually add complexity (like temperature gradients or hot spots).

If you’re including star spots, check out Prša et al. (2016, ApJS, 227, 29), which explains how PHOEBE 2 handles surface features and spot modeling. Also, Jones et al. (2020) have a nice example of fitting light curves for cataclysmic variables using PHOEBE.

Good luck with your thesis — nova-like variables can be tricky, but PHOEBE gives great flexibility once you get the hang of it! 🌟

11 hours ago, Daniyar said:

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m working on my Master’s thesis about modeling Nova-like variable stars using PHOEBE to analyze and fit their light curves.

Has anyone else used PHOEBE for modeling accretion disks or star spots? I’d love to hear how you approached it! 🌟

👋 Hi!

PHOEBE — it’s a ready-made program (package) designed for modeling eclipsing binaries 🌗.
🧠 It already includes physics models, calculation algorithms, and a user interface.

💫 I study cosmic ray motion, and unfortunately, PHOEBE isn’t suitable for our research 🚫.
💻 So we write our own programs in C++ to do the modeling ourselves! ⚙️

That sounds great! I’ve worked with PHOEBE a bit for binary systems. For nova-like variables, you might try including the accretion disk as an additional light source and adjusting its temperature profile manually — PHOEBE doesn’t model disks perfectly out of the box. Also, star spots can be approximated quite well if you start with smaller radii and increase contrast gradually during fitting. Good luck with your modeling — nova-like systems are tricky but really fascinating!

That’s really cool — PHOEBE works great for this kind of modeling! 🌟

I’ve also used it for Nova-like systems, and what helped most was starting with a basic binary setup, then gradually adding the accretion disk and hot spots. Using PHOEBE 2.4+ makes it easier to handle disk temperature gradients.

It can take a few tries to get a good fit, but once the main parameters align, the model nicely reveals the mass transfer and disk dynamics behind those light variations. 🚀

12 hours ago, Daniyar said:

Hi! 👋 No, I haven’t used PHOEBE, but your project sounds really interesting. Good luck with your research!

12 hours ago, Daniyar said:

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m working on my Master’s thesis about modeling Nova-like variable stars using PHOEBE to analyze and fit their light curves.

Has anyone else used PHOEBE for modeling accretion disks or star spots? I’d love to hear how you approached it! 🌟

Hi! 👋 No, I haven’t used PHOEBE, but your project sounds really interesting. Good luck with your research!