2004BaltA..13...93S

The UV spectral properties of 18 old-novae observed with IUE are examined. The de-reddened continuum energy distribution is well described by either a power-law distribution F_λ~λ^–α with α in the range 0.3-2.5 or by a single black-body distribution with T in the range 15 000-38 000 K. The new values of E_B–V have led to new estimates of the distances and of the UV luminosities. A tight correlation exists between L_UV and M_V^min, and both these quantities show a definite correlation with the system inclination angle cos i. With the assumption that L_UV comes from an accretion disk, one obtains that the ``average" L<sub>disk</sub> is about 20 L<sub>☉</sub> and that the ``average" accretion rate {dot}(M) is close to 1x10^–8M_☉/yr, a disturbingly high value.