Related papers: The hot R Coronae Borealis star DY Centauri is a b…
From VLT/NACO diffraction-limited images of RY~Sgr, we report the first direct detection of heterogeneities in the circumstellar envelope of a R Coronae Borealis variable star. Several bright and very large dust clouds are seen in various…
Dwarf carbon stars are dominated by members of the Galactic halo and are thus likely carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars. In this work, a sample of 879 bona fide dwarf carbon stars are characterized by their ground-based light curves, and p<15…
We report the discovery that the star V474 Car is an extremely active, high velocity halo RS CVn system. The star was originally identified as a possible pre-main sequence star in Carina, given its enhanced stellar activity, rapid rotation…
The shortest-period binary star system known to date, RX J0806.3+1527 (HM Cancri), has now been observed in the optical for more than two decades. Although it is thought to be a double degenerate binary undergoing mass transfer, an early…
Radial velocity measurements and simple sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the second set of ten contact binary systems. Eight systems are of the A-type: AH Aur, CK Boo, DK Cyg, UZ Leo, XZ Leo, V839 Oph, GR…
The early-R stars are carbon-rich K-type giants. They are enhanced in C12, C13 and N14, have approximately solar oxygen, magnesium isotopes, s-process and iron abundances, have the luminosity of core-helium burning stars, are not rapid…
We present the results of a spectroscopic campaign revealing that the non-thermal radio emitter Cyg OB2 #8A is an O6 + O5.5 binary system. We propose the very first orbital solution indicating a period of about 21.9 days. The system appears…
Dwarf carbon (dC) stars, main sequence stars showing carbon molecular bands, were initially thought to be an oxymoron since only AGB stars dredge carbon into their atmospheres. Mass transfer from a former AGB companion that has since faded…
We present a detailed photometric and spectroscopic analysis of DD CMa, based on published survey photometry and new spectroscopic data. We find an improved orbital period of $P_\mathrm{o}= 2.0084530 \pm 0.0000006 ~\mathrm{d}$. Our spectra…
We have discovered a class of eccentric binary systems within the Kepler data archive that have dynamic tidal distortions and tidally-induced pulsations. Each has a uniquely shaped light curve that is characterized by periodic brightening…
eta Carinae is a stellar binary system with a period of 5.54 years. It harbors one of the brightest and most massive stars in our galaxy. This paper presents spectroscopic evidence for a fast (up to 2,000 km/s) X-ray outflow of ionized gas…
We report the discovery of an eclipsing X-ray binary with a 3.62-hr period within 24" of the center of the dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 4214. The orbital period places interesting constraints on the nature of the binary, and allows for a few…
With an orbital period of about 3.078 days, the double-lined spectroscopic binary HD 48099 is, still now, the only short-period O+O system known in the Mon OB2 association. Even though an orbital solution has already been derived for this…
The dwarf carbon (dC) star SDSS J112801.67+004034.6 has an unusually high radial velocity, 531$\pm 4$ km s$^{-1}$. We present proper motion and new spectroscopic observations which imply a large Galactic rest frame velocity, 425$\pm 9$ km…
The amplitude of the ellipsoidal variability, the mass function, and the evolutionary limits on the component masses have been used to constrain the binary system parameters. Contrary to all previous studies, our analysis shows that the…
We present the discovery of EVR-CB-004, a close binary with a remnant stellar core and an unseen white dwarf companion. The analysis in this work reveals the primary is potentially an inflated hot subdwarf (sdO) and more likely is a rarer…
An analysis of accurate radial velocities (RVs) of the Be star gamma Cas from 295 Reticon spectrograms secured between October 1993 and May 2000 allowed us to prewhiten the RVs for the long-term changes and to obtain the first orbital RV…
We report 3 new R Coronae Borealis and 63 new DY Persei candidates in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Our analysis, based on data published by the OGLE team, consisted in a search for the characteristic drops in brightness that define these…
Hot subdwarf B stars (sdBs) in close binary systems are assumed to be formed via common envelope ejection. According to theoretical models, the amount of energy and angular momentum deposited in the common envelope scales with the mass of…
Taking advantage of a recent FORS2/VLT spectroscopic sample of Extreme Horizontal Branch (EHB) stars in $\omega$ Cen, we isolate 38 spectra well suited for detailed atmospheric studies and determine their fundamental parameters ($T_{\rm…