Abstract
A light curve modelling and tting program is presented for cataclysmic variable stars and related ob- jects. It allows modelling of a three-dimensional disk in conjunction with the Roche-lobe lling secondary star, thus rendering it a very general tool for light curve analy- sis. Optimization of the solution is based on the maximum- entropy algorithm. Some bench-mark tests are presented, and the general applicability of the program is explored. The program is used here to study the problem of re- constructing the brightness distribution on flaring accre- tion disks from eclipse light curves, and the results are compared with those obtained using the well-established standard technique of flat-disk eclipse mapping. A pre- vious study suggested that erroneous radial temperature proles were obtained with flat-disk eclipse mapping. It is shown here that flat-disk eclipse mapping does reproduce the radial brightness structure of flared accretion disks very well, provided that the inner disk is not obscured by the outer rim of the disk.
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