arXiv subjects

Xiaodian Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaodian Chen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

The rotation properties of $δ$ Sct and $γ$ Dor stars

Based on the LAMOST spectroscopy and TESS time-series photometry, we have obtained a main-sequence star sample of $δ$ Scuti and $γ$ Doradus stars. The sample includes 1534 $δ$ Sct stars, 367 $γ$ Dor stars, 1703 $δ$ Sct$| γ$ Dor stars, 270 $γ$ Dor$| δ$ Sct stars, along with 105 '$δ$ Sct candidates' and 32 '$γ$ Dor candidates'. After correcting for projection effects, we derived the equatorial rotational velocity distribution for $δ$ Sct and $γ$ Dor stars and compared it with that of normal stars. The rotational velocity distributions of $δ$ Sct and $γ$ Dor stars are extremely similar, with the only difference potentially due to the rotational variable stars that have not been completely removed. In contrast, the rotational velocity distribution of normal stars is more dispersed compared to pulsating stars. Additionally, the peak rotational velocity of the pulsating stars is about 10 km s$^{-1}$ higher than that of normal stars. Unlike the normal stars, which show a monotonic increase in peak velocity with mass between 1.8 and 2.5 $M_{\odot}$, the rotational velocity distribution of $δ$ Sct stars does not exhibit a strong mass dependence. We also found that normal stars accelerate during the late main-sequence evolutionary phase, while $δ$ Sct stars decelerate. Furthermore, there may still be unclassified stars with diverse rotational properties in the normal star sample compared to the $δ$ Sct stars, which is likely to be an important contributor to the broader dispersion observed in its rotational velocity distribution. The photometric amplitude in $δ$ Sct stars is modulated with rotational velocity, with high-amplitude stars typically rotating slowly and low-amplitude stars showing a broad distribution of rotational velocities.

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arXiv2024

The cloud cover and meteorological parameters at the Lenghu site on the Tibetan Plateau

The cloud cover and meteorological parameters serve as fundamental criteria for the qualification of an astronomical observatory working in optical and infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present a systematic assessment of key meteorological parameters at the Lenghu site. The datasets adopted in this study includes the meteorological parameters collected at the local weather stations at the site and in the Lenghu Town, the sky brightness at the local zenith acquired by the Sky Quality Meters and night sky all-sky images from a digital camera, the ERA5 reanalysis database and global climate monitoring data. From 2019 to 2023, the fractional observable time of photometric condition is 69.70%, 74.97%, 70.26%, 74.27% and 65.12%, respectively. The fractional observing time is inversely correlated with surface air temperature, relative humidity, precipitable water vapor, and dew temperature, demonstrating that the observing conditions are influenced by these meteorological parameters. Large-scale air-sea interactions affect the climate at Lenghu site, which in fact delivers a clue to understand the irregularity of 2023. Specifically, precipitable water vapor at Lenghu site is correlated to both the westerly wind index and the summer North Atlantic Oscillation index, the yearly average temperature of Lenghu site is observed to increase significantly during the occurrence of a strong El Niño event and the relative humidity anomaly at Lenghu site is correlated to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation index. The decrease of fractional observing time in 2023 was due to the ongoing strong El Niño event and relevant global climate change. We underscore the substantial role of global climate change in regulating astronomical observing conditions and the necessity for long-term continuous monitoring of the astronomical meteorological parameters at Lenghu site.

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arXiv2024

Multi-mode delta Sct stars from the Zwicky Transient Facility Survey

We obtain the largest catalog of multi-mode $δ$ Sct stars in the northern sky to date using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Data Release 20 (DR20). The catalog includes 2254 objects, of which 2181 are new to our study. Among these multi-mode $δ$ Sct stars, 2142 objects are double-mode $δ$ Sct, while 109 objects are triple-mode $δ$ Sct and 3 are quadruple-mode $δ$ Sct. By analyzing the light curves in the $r$ and $g$ bands of the ZTF, we determine the basic parameters of multi-mode $δ$ Sct stars, including the periods and amplitudes. Periods are checked by comparison with the OGLE catalog of double-mode $δ$ Sct stars. On the Petersen diagram, multi-mode $δ$ Sct stars form six sequences. We find that in Galactic coordinates, the periods of 1O/F double-mode $δ$ Sct stars at high latitudes are shorter than those of 1O/F double-mode $δ$ Sct stars in the disk, due to metallicity variations. In the future, our catalog can be used to establish the period--luminosity relation and the period--metallicity relation of double-mode $δ$ Sct stars, and to study the Galactic structure.

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arXiv2024

The Optical to Infrared $0.6-5.3\,{\rm μm}$ Dust Extinction Law of the Milky Way with JWST NIRSpec: Westerlund 2

The interstellar extinction law is important for interpreting observations and inferring the properties of interstellar dust grains. Based on the 993 prism/CLEAR spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we investigate $0.6-5.3\,{\rm μm}$ interstellar dust extinction law. We propose a pair method to obtain the reddening curves based only on JWST observed spectra. Most of the high extinction sources are toward the young star cluster Westerlund 2. The infrared (IR) $1.0-5.3\,{\rm μm}$ reddening curves agree with the power-law $A_λ\propto λ^{-α}$ well. We determine an average value of $α=1.98\pm0.15$, which is consistent with the average value of the Galaxy. We find that $α$ may be variable and independent of $R_{\rm V}$. With the derived $α$, we convert the reddening curves into the extinction curves and establish the non-parameterized $α$-dependent extinction curves in the wavelength range of $0.6-5.3\,{\rm μm}$. At $λ<1\,{\rm μm}$, the derived extinction law is not well described by the parameterized power-law type curve. Our non-parameterized $α$-dependent extinction curves are suitable for the extinction correction of JWST-based photometry and spectra measurements at $0.6-5.3\,{\rm μm}$. We also provide the extinction coefficients for the JWST NIRCam bandpasses with different $α$.

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arXiv2024

Tracing the Galactic disk from the kinematics of Gaia Cepheids

Classical Cepheids (CCs) are excellent tracers for understanding the structure of the Milky Way disk. The latest Gaia Data Release 3 provides a large number of line-of-sight velocity information for Galactic CCs, offering an opportunity for studying the kinematics of the Milky Way. We determine the three-dimensional velocities of 2057 CCs relative to the Galactic center. From the projections of the 3D velocities onto the XY plane of the Galactic disk, we find that $V_{R}$ and $V_ϕ$ velocities of the northern and southern warp (directions with highest amplitude) are different. This phenomenon may be related to the warp precession or the asymmetry of the warp structure. By investigating the kinematic warp model, we find that the vertical velocity of CCs is more suitable for constraining the warp precession rate than the line of nodes angles. Our results suggest that CCs at $12-14$ kpc are the best sample for determining the Galactic warp precession rate. Based on the spatial structure parameters of Cepheid warp from Chen et al (arXiv:1902.00998), we determine a warp precession rate of $ω= 4.9\pm1.6$ km s$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-1}$ at 13 kpc, which supports a low precession rate in the warp model. In the future, more kinematic information on CCs will help to better constrain the structure and evolution of the Milky Way.

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arXiv2024

Minute-Cadence Observations of the LAMOST Fields with the TMTS V. Machine Learning Classification of TMTS Catalogues of Periodic Variable Stars

Periodic variables are always of great scientific interest in astrophysics. Thanks to the rapid advancement of modern large-scale time-domain surveys, the number of reported variable stars has experienced substantial growth for several decades, which significantly deepened our comprehension of stellar structure and binary evolution. The Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescopes for Survey (TMTS) has started to monitor the LAMOST sky areas since 2020, with a cadence of 1 minute. During the period from 2020 to 2022, this survey has resulted in densely sampled light curves for ~ 30,000 variables of the maximum powers in the Lomb-Scargle periodogram above the 5sigma threshold. In this paper, we classified 11,638 variable stars into 6 main types using XGBoost and Random Forest classifiers with accuracies of 98.83% and 98.73%, respectively. Among them, 5301 (45.55%) variables are newly discovered, primarily consisting of Delta Scuti stars, demonstrating the capability of TMTS in searching for short-period variables. We cross-matched the catalogue with Gaia's second Data Release (DR2) and LAMOST's seventh Data Release (DR7) to obtain important physical parameters of the variables. We identified 5504 Delta Scuti stars (including 4876 typical Delta Scuti stars and 628 high-amplitude Delta Scuti stars), 5899 eclipsing binaries (including EA-, EB- and EW-type) and 226 candidates of RS Canum Venaticorum. Leveraging the metal abundance data provided by LAMOST and the Galactic latitude, we discovered 8 candidates of SX Phe stars within the class of "Delta Scuti stars". Moreover, with the help of Gaia color-magnitude diagram, we identified 9 ZZ ceti stars.

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arXiv2023

Unravelling the Period Gap using LAMOST Chromospheric Activity Indices

In our recent catalogue of BY Draconis (BY Dra) variables based on Zwicky Transient Facility data, we found traces of a period gap in the period-colour diagram. We combined our BY Dra database with catalogues from the {\sl Kepler} and K2 surveys, revealing a prominent period gap. Here, we use this combined ZTF-{\sl Kepler}-K2 data set to investigate the origin of the period gap observed for BY Dra stars using chromospheric activity indices. We use low- and medium-resolution spectra from the LAMOST Data Release 7 to derive magnetic activity indices for the Ca {\sc ii} H and K and H$α$ emission lines. We find a strong dependence of chromospheric activity on both stellar mass and rotation period. For partially convective K-M-type stars, the activity decreases steeply up to an age of $\sim$700-1000 Myr, subsequently evolving to the type of low-level saturation associated with spin-down stallation. In contrast, F-G-type stars with thinner convective envelopes exhibit constant activity with increasing age. We suspect that the observed steep decrease for partially convective stars is driven by core-envelope coupling. This mechanism reduces differential rotation at the core-envelope transition, hence leading to decreased magnetic activity. Moreover, we derive activity indices for previously known star clusters and find similar trends as regards their activity levels as a function of age. In particular, very low-level activity is observed around the location of the period gap. Therefore, we conclude that the period gap, defined by the non-detection of variable sources, is driven by a minimum in chromospheric activity.

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arXiv2023

The Ultraviolet to Mid-infrared Extinction Law of the Taurus Molecular Cloud Based on the Gaia DR3, GALEX, APASS, Pan-STARRS1, 2MASS, and WISE Surveys

Interstellar dust extinction law is essential for interpreting observations. In this work, we investigate the ultraviolet (UV)--mid-infrared (IR) extinction law of the Taurus molecular cloud and its possible variations. We select 504,988 dwarf stars (4200 K < Teff < 8000 K) and 4,757 giant stars (4200 K < Teff < 5200 K) based on the stellar parameters of Gaia DR3 as tracers. We establish the Teff--intrinsic color relations and determine the intrinsic color indices and color excesses for different types of stars. In the determination of color excess ratios (CERs), we analyze and correct the curvature of CERs and derive the UV--mid-IR CERs of 16 bands. We consider different effective wavelengths for different types of stars when converting CERs to relative extinction, and obtain the extinction law with a better wavelength resolution. In addition, we analyze the possible regional variation of extinction law and derive the average extinction law of Rv=3.13+-0.32 for the Taurus molecular cloud. Only 0.9% of subregions have deviations >3sigma, indicating limited regional variation in the extinction law. We also discuss the effect of Gaia Teff overestimation on the determination of the Taurus extinction law and find that the effect is negligible.

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arXiv2023

Double-mode RR Lyrae star -- robust distance and metallicity indicators

RR Lyrae (RR Lyr) stars are a well-known and useful distance indicator for old stellar populations such as globular clusters and dwarf galaxies. Fundamental-mode RR Lyr (RRab) stars are commonly used to measure distances, and the accuracy of the determined distance is strongly constrained by metallicity. Here, we investigate the metallicity dependence in the period-luminosity (PL) relation of double-mode RR Lyr (RRd) stars. We find and establish a linear relation between metallicity and period or period ratio for RRd stars. This relation can predict the metallicity as accurately as the low-resolution spectra. Based on this relation, we establish a metallicity-independent PL relation for RRd stars. Combining the distance of the Large Magellanic Cloud and Gaia parallaxes, we calibrate the zero point of the derived PL relation to an error of 0.022 mag. Using RRd stars, we measure the distances of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies with an accuracy of 2-3% and 1-2%, respectively. In the future, RRd stars could anchor galaxy distances to an accuracy of 1.0% and become an independent distance ladder in the Local Group.

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arXiv2023

The use of double-mode RR Lyrae stars as robust distance and metallicity indicators

RR Lyrae stars are one of the primary distance indicators for old stellar populations such as globular clusters, dwarf galaxies and galaxies. Typically, fundamental-mode RR Lyr stars are used for distance measurements, and their accuracy is strongly limited by the dependence of absolute magnitudes on metallicity, in both the optical and infrared bands. Here, we report the discovery of a period-(period ratio)-metallicity relation for double-mode RR Lyr stars, which can predict metallicity as accurately as the low-resolution spectra. With theoretical and observational evidence, we propose that the period-luminosity relation of double-mode RR Lyr stars is not affected by the metallicity. Combining the Large Magellanic Cloud distance and Gaia parallaxes, we calibrate the zero point of the period-luminosity relation to an error of 0.022 mag, which means that in the best case double-mode RR Lyr stars can anchor galaxy distances to an accuracy of 1.0%. For four globular clusters and two dwarf galaxies, we obtain distances using double-mode RR Lyr stars with a distance accuracy of 2-3% and 1-2%, respectively. With future telescopes such as the China Space Station Telescope and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, double-mode RR Lyr stars will be established as an independent distance ladder in the near-field universe.

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arXiv2023

Evolved Massive Stars at Low-metallicity V. Mass-Loss Rate of Red Supergiant Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We assemble the most complete and clean red supergiant (RSG) sample (2,121 targets) so far in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with 53 different bands of data to study the MLR of RSGs. In order to match the observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs), a theoretical grid of 17,820 Oxygen-rich models (``normal'' and ``dusty'' grids are half-and-half) is created by the radiatively-driven wind model of the DUSTY code, covering a wide range of dust parameters. We select the best model for each target by calculating the minimal modified chi-square and visual inspection. The resulting MLRs from DUSTY are converted to real MLRs based on the scaling relation, for which a total MLR of $6.16\times10^{-3}$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ is measured (corresponding to a dust-production rate of $\sim6\times10^{-6}$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$), with a typical MLR of $\sim10^{-6}$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ for the general population of the RSGs. The complexity of mass-loss estimation based on the SED is fully discussed for the first time, indicating large uncertainties based on the photometric data (potentially up to one order of magnitude or more). The Hertzsprung-Russell and luminosity versus median absolute deviation diagrams of the sample indicate the positive relation between luminosity and MLR. Meanwhile, the luminosity versus MLR diagrams show a ``knee-like'' shape with enhanced mass-loss occurring above $\log_{10}(L/L_\odot)\approx4.6$, which may be due to the degeneracy of luminosity, pulsation, low surface gravity, convection, and other factors. We derive our MLR relation by using a third-order polynomial to fit the sample and compare our result with previous empirical MLR prescriptions. Given that our MLR prescription is based on a much larger sample than previous determinations, it provides a more accurate relation at the cool and luminous region of the H-R diagram at low-metallicity compared to previous studies.

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arXiv2023

The Optical to Infrared Extinction Law of Magellanic Clouds Based on Red Supergiant and Classical Cepheid

Precise interstellar dust extinction laws are important to infer the intrinsic properties of reddened objects and correctly interpret observations. In this work, we attempt to measure the optical--infrared extinction laws of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) by using red supergiant (RSG) stars and classical Cepheids as extinction tracers. The spectroscopic RSG samples are constructed based on the APOGEE spectral parameters, Gaia astrometric data, and multi-band photometry. We establish the effective temperature--intrinsic color relations for RSG stars and determine the color excess ratio (CER) E(lambda-GRP)/E(GBP-GRP) for LMC and SMC. We use classical Cepheids to derive base relative extinction A_GRP/E(GBP-GRP). The results are 1.589+-0.014 and 1.412+-0.041 for LMC and SMC. By combining CERs with A_GRP /E(GBP-GRP), the optical--infrared extinction coefficients A_lambda/A_GRP are determined for 16 bands. We adjust the parameters of Rv-dependent extinction laws and obtain the average extinction law of LMC and SMC as Rv=3.40+-0.07 and Rv=2.53+-0.10, which are consistent with Gordon et al. (2003). In the optical bands, the adjusted Rv extinction curves agree with the observations with deviations less than 3%.

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arXiv2022

The Eclipsing Binaries from the LAMOST Medium-resolution Survey.III. A High-precision Empirical Stellar Mass Library

High-precision stellar mass and radius measured directly from binaries can effectively calibrate the stellar models. However, such a database containing full spectral types and large range of metallicity is still not fully established. A continuous effort of data collecting and analysis are requested to complete the database. In this work, we provide a catalog containing 184 binaries with independent atmospheric parameters and accurate masses and radii as the benchmark of stellar mass and radius. The catalog contains 56 new detached binaries from LAMOST Medium-resolution spectroscopic (MRS) survey and 128 detached eclipsing binaries compiled from previous studies. We obtain the orbital solutions of the new detached binaries with uncertainties of masses and radii smaller than 5%. These new samples densify the distribution of metallicity of the high-precision stellar mass library and add 9 hot stars with Teff>8000 K. Comparisons show that these samples well agree with the PARSEC isochrones in Teff-logg-mass-radius-luminosity space. We compare mass and radius estimates from isochrone and SED fitting, respectively, with those from the binary orbital solution. We find that the precision of the stellar-model dependent mass estimates is >10% and the precision of the radius estimates based on atmospheric parameters is >15%. These give a general view of the uncertainty of the usual approaches to estimate stellar mass and radius.

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arXiv2022

Double Mode Cepheids from the Zwicky Transient Facility Survey

Multi-mode Cepheids pulsate simultaneously in more than one mode of oscillation. They provide an independent means to test stellar models and pulsation theories. They can also be used to derive metallicities. In recent years, the number of known multi-mode Cepheids has increased dramatically with the discovery of a large number of Galactic double-mode Cepheids. To date, 209 double-mode Cepheids have been detected in the Galactic bulge and disk, mostly based on the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment's (OGLE) catalog. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive search for double-mode Cepheids in the northern sky based on Zwicky Transient Facility Data Release 5. We found 72 such objects in the Milky Way. The periods of the 30 sample objects already included in the OGLE catalog show excellent agreement with the OGLE periods. The period ratios of our new Cepheids are consistent with those of known double-mode Cepheids, as evidenced by their loci in the so-called `Petersen diagram'. Compared with OGLE, the completeness of our double-mode Cepheid sample is around 71\%. The much improved temporal sampling of the Zwicky Transient Facility offers significant scope to find more double-mode Cepheids, especially at the distribution's short-period end.

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arXiv2022

Extremely low-mass white dwarf stars observed in Gaia DR2 and LAMOST DR8

We present the first results from our ongoing project to study extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs (WDs) ($M$ $\leq$ 0.3$M_{\sun}$) with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) spectra. Based on the LAMOST DR8 spectral database, we analyzed 136 ELM WD candidates selected from $\it Gaia$ DR2 data and 12 known objects previously identified by the ELM Survey. The atmospheric parameters and radial velocities of these stars were obtained by fitting the LAMOST low-resolution spectra. After comparing the atmospheric parameters of the 12 known objects from this work to the results reported by the ELM Survey, we demonstrated the potential of LAMOST spectra in probing into the nature of ELM WDs. Based on the atmospheric parameters and $\it Gaia$ EDR3 data, we identified 21 new high-probability ELM WDs with masses $M$ $\leq$ 0.3$M_{\sun}$ and parallax estimates that agree to within a factor of 3. Two of them, J0338+4134 and J1129+4715, show significant radial velocity variability and are very likely to be binary systems containing at least one ELM WD.

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arXiv2022

Statistics of BY Draconis Chromospheric Variable Stars

We present an extensive catalogue of BY Draconis (BY Dra)-type variables and their stellar parameters. BY Dra are main-sequence FGKM-type stars. They exhibit inhomogeneous starspots and bright faculae in their photospheres. These features are caused by stellar magnetic fields, which are carried along with the stellar disc through rotation and which produce gradual modulations in their light curves (LCs). Our main objective is to characterise the properties of BY Dra variables over a wide range of stellar masses, temperatures and rotation periods. A recent study categorised 84,697 BY Dra variables from Data Release 2 of the Zwicky Transient Facility based on their LCs. We have collected additional photometric data from multiple surveys and performed broad-band spectral energy distribution fits to estimate stellar parameters. We found that more than half of our sample objects are of K spectral type, covering an extensive range of stellar parameters in the low-mass regime (0.1-1.3 M$_{\odot}$ ). Compared with previous studies, most of the sources in our catalogue are rapid rotators, and so most of them must be young stars for which a spin-down has not yet occurred. We subdivided our catalogue based on convection zone depth and found that the photospheric activity index, $S_{\rm ph}$, is lower for higher effective temperatures, i.e., for thinner convective envelopes. We observe a broad range of photospheric magnetic activity for different spectral classes owing to the presence of stellar populations of different ages. We found a higher magnetically active fraction for K- than M-type stars.

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arXiv2022

Dependence of pulsation mode of Cepheids on metallicity

The Cepheid variables in SMC, LMC, the Milky Way, M33 and M31 are used to examine the dependence of pulsation mode on metallicity which was previously found in red supergiants. The initial samples of Cepheids are collected from the Cepheid catalogs identified from the OGLE, PS1, DIRECT, WISE and ZTF surveys. The contaminants are removed with the help of the Gaia/EDR3 astrometric information for extra galaxies or by comparing the geometric distance and the distance from the P-L relation for the Milky Way. The division of fundamental and first-overtone mode is refined according to the gap between the two modes in the P-L diagram of the objects in each galaxy. The ratio of FU/(FU+1O) is found to be 0.59, 0.60, 0.69, 0.83 and 0.85 for SMC, LMC, the Milky Way, M33 and M31 respectively in order of metallicity, which confirms that the pulsation mode depends on metallicity in the way that the ratio of FU/(FU+1O) increases with metallicity. This dependence is not changed if the incompleteness of the samples is taken into account.

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arXiv2022

Physical Properties of 29 sdB+dM Eclipsing Binaries in Zwicky Transient Facility

The development of large-scale time-domain surveys provides an opportunity to study the physical properties as well as the evolutionary scenario of B-type subdwarfs (sdB) and M-type dwarfs (dM). Here, we obtained 33 sdB+dM eclipsing binaries based on the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) light curves and $Gaia$ early data release 3 (EDR3) parallaxes. By using the PHOEBE code for light curve analysis, we obtain probability distributions for parameters of 29 sdB+dM. $R_1$, $R_2$, and $i$ are well determined, and the average uncertainty of mass ratio $q$ is 0.08. Our parameters are in good agreement with previous works if a typical mass of sdB is assumed. Based on parameters of 29 sdB+dM, we find that both the mass ratio $q$ and the companion's radius $R_2$ decrease with the shortening of the orbital period. For the three sdB+dMs with orbital periods less than 0.075 days, their companions are all brown dwarfs. The masses and radii of the companions satisfy the mass--radius relation for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. Companions with radii between $0.12R_\odot$ and $0.15R_\odot$ seem to be missing in the observations. As more short-period sdB+dM eclipsing binaries are discovered and classified in the future with ZTF and $Gaia$, we will have more information to constrain the evolutionary ending of sdB+dM.

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