Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2505.03141

Exploring Contact Binaries: Observational Analysis of four W Uma Binaries Using Photometry and Spectroscopy

Alaxender Panchal·Yogesh Chandra Joshi·Vishal Joshi·Abhijit Chakraborty
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We present the multi-band photometric and low-resolution spectroscopic analysis of four W Ursae Majoris eclipsing binaries (EWs) - J080510.1+141528 (hereinafter as J0805a), J080516.3+143138 (hereinafter as J0805b), J143358.7+053953 (hereinafter as J1433), and J143458.4+054143 (hereinafter as J1434). The multi-band ground based photometric data are collected using the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) while we also make use of TESS photometric observations. The spectroscopic analysis is based on the low-resolution observations by 4-m Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). The ephemeris of these systems are updated using the photometric data from TESS and other photometric surveys. The system J0805b shows a secular change in the orbital period with a period change rate of 4.2 ($\pm$ 0.1) $\times10^{-7}$ days per year while the orbital period change rate for J1433 is calculated as -1.1 ($\pm$ 0.1) $\times10^{-6}$ days per year. The mass-transfer rate for J0805b is found to be dM$_{1}$/dt = -1.56($\pm$0.07) $\times 10^{-6}$ M$_{\odot}$/year and dM$_{1}$/dt = -7.95($\pm$0.87) $\times 10^{-7}$ M$_{\odot}$/year for J1433. All the systems have inclination > 79$^{\circ}$ except J1433 which has inclination of 72.8$^{\circ}$. The mass-ratios (less massive to more massive component) for these targets are < 0.5. All the system except J0805b are A-subtype contact binaries. The absolute parameters of the systems are determined using GAIA DR3 parallax and reddening information. The LAMOST spectra are analyzed using spectral subtraction technique. A small excess emission is detected for J1433 in H$_{\alpha}$ and H$_{\beta}$ region. The systems are plotted on Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and compared with previously studied systems. The mass-ratio vs radius-ratio relation is also investigated for these systems.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.SR

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Alaxender Panchal, Yogesh Chandra Joshi, Vishal Joshi, Abhijit Chakraborty. 2025-05-06. Exploring Contact Binaries: Observational Analysis of four W Uma Binaries Using Photometry and Spectroscopy. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.03141

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Eclipse Properties and Superhump Evolution in the SU UMa-Type Dwarf Nova Z Cha

The advent of large-scale time-domain surveys provides both opportunities and challenges for understanding accretion disk evolution in cataclysmic variables (CVs). Using high-cadence photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we investigate the eclipsing SU UMa-type dwarf nova Z Cha. Leveraging eclipses as a natural probe, we examine the evolution of the accretion disk through variations in eclipse depth, O--C of eclipse minima, and positive superhump (PSH) amplitude. During superoutbursts, all three quantities exhibit quasi-periodic modulations with a common period of $\sim$2 days, consistent with the precession period of an eccentric disk. We interpret these correlated variations as evidence of an eccentric, precessing disk: O--C traces the periodic shift of the system's brightness center, while eclipse depth and PSH amplitude vary with the orientation of the disk bulge relative to the line of sight. In quiescence (Sectors 13 and 93), PSHs with periods of $\sim$0.0762 days show linearly decreasing amplitudes and periods, indicating gradual shrinkage of the eccentric disk and a slowing precession. Remarkably, a coherent signal with a period of $\sim$0.0729~days ($\epsilon^{-}\approx-0.02$) appears in the same quiescent intervals. This signal may represent negative superhumps (NSHs) coexisting with PSHs, although an orbital sideband of the PSH cannot presently be excluded with the available data. If confirmed as NSHs, their coexistence with PSHs would challenge the classical tilted-disk model, and could be explained by retrograde apsidal precession of an eccentric disk, where the inner disk precesses retrogradely (NSHs) and the outer disk progradely (PSHs); this interpretation remains to be tested by further observations.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2026

Classical Nova V1405 Cas Had $M_{\rm ejecta}$$>$$M_{\rm accreted}$ and so is Unlikely to be a Type Ia Supernova Progenitor

Nova 2021 Cassiopeia (V1405 Cas) was an ordinary J(175) neon nova with the white dwarf mass estimated to be $M_{\rm WD}$=0.60$\pm$0.10 $M_{\odot}$. I found an orbital period of $P$=0.1884 days, and have tracked 20 times of photometric minima from 2013--2025. I measure that $P$ increased from before to after the eruption with $P_{\rm pre}$=0.1883919$\pm$0.0000018 days and $P_{\rm post}$=0.1884043$\pm$0.0000018 days, for $\Delta P$/$P$=66$_{-18}^{+21}$ parts-per-million. With correction for the angular momentum loss by the binary during the eruption, I derive that the nova ejected $M_{\rm ejecta}$=7.5$\times$10$^{-4}$ $M_{\odot}$, with an extreme range of (2.9--40)$\times$10$^{-4}$ $M_{\odot}$. The mass accreted during the previous eruption cycle comes from the trigger mass, and is $M_{\rm accreted}$=(1.6$\pm$0.4)$\times$10$^{-4}$ $M_{\odot}$. V1405 Cas provides counterexamples against five claims about CV evolution that have dominated since the 1980s. First, V1405 Cas has positive $\dot{P}$, and this is contrary to the Magnetic Braking Model. Second, the $\Delta P$ is 20$\times$ too small to allow the system to fade into a hibernation state. Third, $M_{\rm WD}$ is decreasing over time, as shown by $M_{\rm ejecta}$$>$$M_{\rm accreted}$ and by being a neon nova. Fourth, V1405 Cas is not a Type Ia supernova progenitor, for the same reasons. Fifth, the orbital period of V1405 Cas increased by $+$75 ppm from 2013--2025, as a counterexample to the pervasive idea that cataclysmic variables are universally declining in period from evolution. V1405 Cas is the latest of recent measures of $\Delta P$ and $\dot{P}$ for 52 cataclysmic variables and 25 X-ray binaries that have together refuted all five claims.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2026

A prolonged plateau-to-tail transition in the Type II supernova SN2025abyc

We present optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the Type II supernova SN2025abyc. During the optically thick phase between approximately 10 and 70 d after explosion, its light curves show strongly wavelength-dependent decline rates of approximately 2.7, 2.1, 0.9, and 0.8 mag/100d in the g, c, r, and o bands, respectively. At approximately 70 d, the light curves begin to depart from their nearly linear plateau evolution and gradually transition toward the radioactive tail. A Fermi-Dirac fit to the well-sampled ATLAS o-band light curve yields a transition midpoint of t_PT ~ 100.5d. The interval between the end of the linear plateau and this transition midpoint is approximately 30 d, indicating a prolonged plateau-to-tail transition. This timescale is comparable to those measured for SN2013by, SN2013ej, and SN2014G. Spectroscopically, at +13 d post-explosion, the Halpha profile appears weak and broad, whereas Hbeta and Hgamma display clear P-Cygni profiles. This morphology can be explained by the normal early spectroscopic evolution of SNe II, although partial filling of the Halpha absorption trough by emission associated with circumstellar interaction cannot be excluded. SN2025abyc otherwise follows the general photospheric velocity evolution of SNe II, while remaining toward the high-velocity side of the comparison distribution in Halpha, Hbeta, and FeII. Exploratory light-curve modelling suggests a synthesized Ni mass of approximately 0.03-0.04 solar mass. We suggest that the extended circumstellar environment, Ni distribution, and hydrogen-envelope structure could all play a role in shaping the observed light-curve evolution, particularly the prolonged plateau-to-tail transition.

astro-ph.SR↗