The calm after the storm: the cooling phase of novae

The secular evolution of classical and recurrent novae determines the outburstoutcome and the final fate of interacting binary white dwarf systems. We havemonitored novae that were already well studied in outburst, while they cool andresume accretion, discovering interesting facts. We uncovered evidencethatmagnetic, intermediate polar white dwarfs may be frequent in novae. We alsofound novae in which a region on the white dwarf surface remains as hot as inoutburst for years, and in one case we have observed it completely cooling. Wepropose to observe V2491 Cyg and KT Eri as they settle into quiescence, to studythis phenomenon and understand its root cause, including the possible connectionwith the magnetic field. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]