2005AJ....130..742K

We present long-term photometry of five magnetic cataclysmic variables (MCVs) that displayed pronounced VY Scl-like low states during the interval 1990-2004. A total of 43 transitions to and from the low states are analyzed and compared with the properties of disk VY Scl transitions from an earlier study. We find that the speeds and shapes of the transitions of both disk and magnetic systems above the CV period gap suggest that the low states are due to starspots on the secondary star drifting in front of the L1 point. For systems below the gap, the characteristics of the transitions point to X-ray irradiation on the L1 point for the cause of the low states. Our results are in accord with the nature of the secondary star, which is expected to be fully convective for systems below the gap. Finally, unresolved flaring events present in the low states of the MCVs in our sample are attributed to activity on the secondary, indicating that these secondaries are indeed chromospherically active.