Related papers: A spectroscopic binary in the Hercules dwarf spher…
We present deep CCD photometry of a field in the newly discovered dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Sagittarius (hereafter Sgr), and of a nearby control field. These data (totaling ~3.5 hrs exposure time in V and I) were used to produce…
Stellar abundance pattern of neutron-capture elements such as barium is used as a powerful tool to infer how star formation proceeded in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. It is found that the abundance correlation of barium with iron in…
The results of 27 hours of time series photometry of SDSS 121209.31+013627.7 are presented. The binary period established from spectroscopy is confirmed and refined to 0.061412 d (88.43 minutes). The photometric variations are dominated by…
We present our final orbit for the late-type spectroscopic binary HD 1. Employed are 553 spectra from 13 years of observations with our robotic STELLA facility and its high-resolution echelle spectrograph SES. Its long-term radial-velocity…
The masses of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes are fundamental to astrophysics, but very difficult to measure. We present the results of an analysis of subluminous B (sdB) stars in close binary systems with…
We introduce a likelihood analysis of multi-epoch stellar line-of-sight velocities to constrain the binary fractions and binary period distributions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. This method is applied to multi-epoch data from the…
We confirmed the binary nature of the Be star 7~Vul, derived a~more accurate spectroscopic orbit with an orbital period of (69.4212+/-0.0034) d, and improved the knowledge of the basic physical elements of the system. Analyzing available…
The metal-poor post-AGB star HD 46703 is shown to be a single-line spectroscopic binary with a period of 600 days, a high velocity of -94 km/s, and an orbital eccentricity of 0.3. Light curve studies show that it also pulsates with a period…
Using Liverpool Telescope+RISE photometry we identify the 2.78 hour period binary star CSS 41177 as a detached eclipsing double white dwarf binary with a 21,100K primary star and a 10,500K secondary star. This makes CSS 41177 only the…
The recently discovered subdwarf B (sdB) pulsator KIC11558725 features a rich g-mode frequency spectrum, with a few low-amplitude p-modes at short periods, and is a promising target for a seismic study aiming to constrain the internal…
We report the discovery of a rare close binary system, SMSS J160639.78-100010.7, comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 30 MG and a brown dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 92 min which is consistent with the…
Hercules is a dwarf spheroidal satellite of the Milky Way, found at a distance of about 138 kpc, and showing evidence of tidal disruption. It is very elongated and exhibits a velocity gradient of 16 +/- 3 km/s/kpc. Using this data a…
We report photometry and spectroscopy of the novalike variable DW Cancri. The spectra show the usual broad H and He emission lines, with an excitation and continuum slope characteristic of a moderately high accretion rate. A radial-velocity…
For the first time accurate pulsation properties of the ancient variable stars of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) are discussed in the broad context of galaxy formation and evolution. Homogeneous multi-band $BVI$ optical…
Characterizing the local space density of double degenerate binary systems is a complementary approach to broad sky surveys of double degenerates to determine the expected rates of white dwarf binary mergers, in particular those that may…
Although delta Scorpii is a bright and well-studied star, the details of its multiplicity have remained unclear. Here we present the first diffraction-limited image of this 0.12 arcsec binary star, made using optical interferometry, and…
We report the discovery of clear observational signs of past accretion/merger events in one of the Milky Way satellite galaxies, the Sextans dwarf spheroidal (dSph). These were uncovered in the spatial distribution, internal kinematics and…
We have found that the white dwarf PG 1101+364 is a double-lined white dwarf/white dwarf binary with an orbital period of 3.47 hours. PG 1101+364 is the shortest period detached double-degenerate yet found and gravitational radiation will…
HM Cancri is a candidate ultracompact binary white dwarf with an apparent orbital period of only 5.4 minutes, as suggested by X-ray and optical light-curve modulations on that period, and by the absence of longer-period variability. In this…
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…