Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Evolution of a mass accreting white dwarf has been computed from the onset of accretion through nova explosion. We have considered a white dwarf of 1.3M⊙ with the accretion rate of 1×10-10M⊙ yr-1. Because the thermal structure during the accretion phase has been fully taken into computation, the mass of the accreted hydrogen-rich envelope and the corresponding temperature distribution in the envelope have been determined. When the hydrogen-rich envelope of mass ΔMH = 1.63 × 10-4M⊙ has been formed, a hydrogen-shell flashes commences. The flashing shell lies midway between the bottom of the envelope and the stellar surface; the mass lying above this shell is 5.7 × 10-5M⊙