The accreting white dwarfs in VY Scl nova-like variables

Accurate distances for nova-like variables offer the possibility of extracting information on nova-like accretion rates during high states of optical brightness and on their underlying accretion-heated white dwarfs during intermediate and low brightness states. The modeling technique which is employed is discussed and a representative example, the novalike variable KR Aur, is presented. Although KR Aur was in a fainter high state when its far ultraviolet spectrum was obtained, roughly one-half of its FUV radiation is due to the light of an accretion disk and the other half is contributed by a hot white dwarf with Teff = 29, 000±2, 000K. However, this best-fit solution corresponds to a distance of 180 pc which was an early distance estimate due to Patterson (1984).