090250

A recently-discovered intermediate polar CTCV J2056-3014 has the shortest spin period (29.6 sec) among all CVs and white dwarfs. Fast-spinning CVs are extremely rare and unique as manifested by AR Sco (the white dwarf pulsar) and AE Aqr which spins down via the propeller effect. The proposed XMM + NuSTAR observation will allow us to fully explore the X-ray spectral and timing properties of this remarkable CV. Our primary goals are (1) determining its white dwarf mass accurately for testing the stability condition of fast-spinning WDs (2) detecting a weak neutral Fe K-alpha line as a signature of tall accretion column and (3) search for non-thermal X-ray pulsation such as found from AR Sco. [truncated! Please see actual data for full text]