A comprehensive survey of the structure and evolution of accretion disks in compact binary systems. Reviews discuss the nature of limit cycle thermal instabilities and a variety of closely related topics from the theory of angular momentum transport to eclipse mapping of the disk structure.

Accretion disks in compact stellar systems containing white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes are the principal laboratory for understanding the role of accretion disks in a wide variety of environments from proto-stars to quasars. Recent work on disk instabilities and dynamics has given a new theoreticcal framework with which to study accretion disks. Modelling of time-dependent phenomena provides new insight into the causes and interpretation of photometric and spectroscopic variability and new constraints on the fundamental physical problem - the origin of viscosity in accretion disks. This book contains expert reviews on the nature of limit cycle thermal instabilities and a variety of closely related topics from the theory of angular momentum transport to eclipse mapping of the disk structure. The result is a comprehensive contemporary survey of the structure and evolution of accretion disks in compact binary systems.

Disk instabilities in stellar accretion disks, J. Cannizzo and F. Meyer
angular momentum transport in low mass accretion disks, E.T. Vishniac
emission lines from accretion disks, E.L. Robinson
eclipse mapping of accretion disks, K. Horne
disk atmospheres, G. Shaviv
discs and magnetospheres, A. King
winds and boundary layers in accretion disks, J. Drew
the stream-disk interaction, M. Livio
non-axisymmetric structures of accretion disks in close binary systems, Y. Osaki
X-ray observations of accretion disks, H. Inoue
illumination models for soft X-ray transients, A. King
black hole accretion disk instabilities, S. Mineshige.