2009ApJ...703.1839L

A analysis of standard model accretion disk synthetic spectrum fits to combined Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectra of V3885 Sagittarius, on an absolute flux basis, selects a model that accurately represents the observed spectral energy distribution. Calculation of the synthetic spectrum requires the following system parameters. The cataclysmic variable secondary star period-mass relation calibrated by Knigge in 2006 and 2007 sets the secondary component mass. A mean white dwarf (WD) mass from the same study, which is consistent with an observationally determined mass ratio, sets the adopted WD mass of 0.7 M_☉, and the WD radius follows from standard theoretical models. The adopted inclination, i = 65°, is a literature consensus, and is subsequently supported by analysis. The mass transfer rate is the remaining parameter to set the accretion disk T_effprofile, and the Hipparcos parallax constrains that parameter to by a comparison with observed spectra. The fit to the observed spectra adopts the contribution of a 57, 000±5000 K WD. The model thus provides realistic constraints on and T_eff for a large system above the period gap.