Research will be carried out to investigate the cause and evolution of the nova outburst and the driving mechanism of the hot, pulsating variable stars. The studies will use a Lagrangian, hydrodynamic computer program that includes a large nuclear reaction network, element diffusion, accretion, new surface boundary conditions and the latest available equations of state. The specific projects are: (1) a study of the consequences of accretion of hydrogen rich material onto a strongly magnetized white dwarf; (2) a study to explore the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the observed abundances of the intermediate mass elements and make specific predictions with respect to Na-22 and Al-26, (3) a study to determine the cause of the cessation of nuclear burning and the return to quiescence of the white dwarf which will include the effects of dynamical friction and radiation pressure driven mass loss; (4) a study of the recurrent nova phenomena concentrating on T Pyx, a slow nova due for an outburst in the near future; (6) a study of the helium abundance in the envelopes of the GW Vir (PG1159-035 variables) by means of nonradial, nonadiabatic analyses and new compositions; (7) a study of the pulsating white dwarf in the V471 binary system with the intent of discovering the cause of its variability; (8) a study of cooling sequences, with diffusion included, for the PG1159-035 variables; and (9) optical spectroscopic studies of novae in outburst and blue stellar objects from the Case Blue Star survey.
