In this model, strong magnetic braking of a binary star inflates the mass-losing donor above the cataclysmic-variable period gap. A reduction in the torque near the fully convective star transition allows thermal contraction and detachment. Gravitational-wave emission from a binary system continues to shrink the orbit until contact returns below the gap. The model requires a braking decrease and a previously inflated donor, not disappearance of stellar magnetism. Knigge's review describes this evolutionary picture and observational tests.
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