Related papers: Contact Binary Stars as Standard Candles
A sample of spectroscopic binaries and a sample of single planetary systems, both having main-sequence solar-type primary components, are selected in order to compare their eccentricities. The positions of the objects in the…
Results of an archival survey are presented using B-band imaging of the eastern spiral arm of M31. Focusing on the eclipsing binary star population, a matched-filter technique has been used to identify 280 binary systems. Of these, 127…
Spectropolarimetry is a photon-hungry technique that will reach fruition in the 8-m telescope age. Here I summarize some of the stellar spectropolarimetric research that my collaborators and I have undertaken, with particular emphasis on…
Many asteroids that make close encounters with terrestrial planets are in a binary configuration. Here we calculate the relevant encounter timescales and investigate the effects of encounters on a binary's mutual orbit. We use a combination…
Planetary nebulae are traditionally considered to represent the final evolutionary stage of all intermediate-mass stars ($\sim$0.7-8Msol). Recent evidence seems to contradict this picture. In particular, since the launch of the Hubble Space…
During the motion of a binary pulsar around the Galactic center, the pulsar and its companion experience a wind of dark-matter particles that can affect the orbital motion through dynamical friction. We show that this effect produces a…
Orbits of 44 close and fast visual binaries are computed using the latest speckle observations; 23 orbits are determined for the first time, the rest are revisions, some quite substantial. Six combined orbits use radial velocities. The…
A standard binary microlensing event lightcurve allows just two parameters of the lensing system to be measured: the mass ratio of the companion to its host, and the projected separation of the components in units of the Einstein radius.…
The study presents a simplified method to identify potential bright red nova progenitors based on the amplitude of the light curve and infrared (J-H) colour of a contact binary system. We employ published criteria for contact binary orbital…
The mass ratio $q$ of a contact binary star evolves due to mass transfer, magnetic braking, and thermal relaxation oscillations to small values until it crosses a critical threshold $q_\text{min}$. When that happens, the binary undergoes…
A sample of bright contact binary stars (W UMa-type or EW, and related: with beta Lyr light curves, EB, and ellipsoidal, ELL - in effect, all but the detached, EA), to the limit of Vmax = 7.5 magnitude is deemed to include all discoverable…
Eclipsing binary stars provide highly accurate measurements of the fundamental physical properties of stars. They therefore serve as stringent tests of the predictions of evolutionary models upon which most stellar age determinations are…
Stellar companion of a black hole orbiting in an eccentric orbit will experience modulating tidal force with a periodicity same as that of the orbital period. This, in turn, would modulate accretion rates, and the seed photon flux which are…
Binaries have played a crucial role many times in the history of modern astronomy and are doing so again in the rapidly evolving exploration of the Kuiper Belt. The large fraction of transneptunian objects that are binary or multiple, 48…
We present a progress report of our project aiming to increase the number of known Cepheids in double-lined binary (SB2) systems from six to 100 or more. This will allow us, among other goals, to accurately measure masses for a large sample…
The Kepler K2 mission now makes it possible to find and study a wider variety of eclipsing binary stars than has been possible to-date, particularly long-period systems with narrow eclipses. Our aim is to characterise eclipsing binary stars…
The first charge-coupled device photometric light curves in B, V, R${_c}$, and I${_c}$ bands of the short-period contact binary star OQ Cam are presented. Through analyzing the light curves with the Wilson-Devinney code, it is found that OQ…
We present a new catalog of 1575 contact binary stars fainter than I=18 mag identified in OGLE-I database in the selected directions toward the Galactic bulge and the Galactic bar. For completeness we recall here also the objects from the…
We demonstrate how measuring orbital period derivatives can lead to more accurate distance estimates and transverse velocities for some nearby binary pulsars. In many cases this method will estimate distances more accurately than is…
The study of binary stars is critical to apprehend many of the most interesting classes of stars. Moreover, quite often, the study of stars in binary systems is our only mean to constrain stellar properties, such as masses and radii.…