Magnetically controlled accretion in AM Herculis

AM Herculis, the prototype of strongly magnetic cataclysmic binaries, escapedXMMNewton observations so far due to visibility constraints. We now propose toobserve AM Her with full phase coverage of the 3 hour binary orbit. There is a50% chance to encounter the system in a high or a low accretion state.Observations in each state will reveal different, but equally important physicalinsight into the processes of magnetically controlled accretion. We will makesimultaneous observatiosn of the hard Xray emitting shock, the heated accretionpole cap, the atmosphere of the white dwarf, the absorption in the shock and inthe flow, the reflection from the white dwarf. The temperatures, densities,fluxes and sizes of these regions will combine to an understanding of magnetic accretion as a whole. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]