Periodic Variation Studies of the Two Short Period W UMa-type Eclipsing Binaries: LX Lyn and V0853 Aur

In this paper,new light curves(LCs) of contact eclipsing binary(CEB) systems LX Lyn and V0853 Aur are presented and analyzed by using the 2015 version of the Wilson-Devinney(W-D) code.In order to explain their asymmetric LCs,cool starspots on the components were employed.It is suggested that their fill-out degrees are f=12.0%(LX Lyn) and f=26.3%(V0853 Aur).At the same time,we found that LX Lyn is a W-type eclipsing binary(EB) with an orbital inclination of i=84°.88 and a mass ratio of q=2.31.V0853 Aur is also a W-type CEB with a mass ratio of q=2.77 and an orbital inclination of i= 79°.26.Based on all available times of light minimum,their orbital period changes are studied by using the O-C method.The O-C diagram of LX Lyn reveals a cyclic oscillation with a period of about 14.84 yr and an amplitude of 0.0019 days,which can be explained by the light-travel time effect(LTTE) due to the presence of a third body with a minimum mass of0.06M_⊙.For V0853 Aur,it is discovered that the O-C diagram of the system also shows a cyclic oscillation with a period of 9.64 yr and an amplitude of 0.03365 days.The cyclic oscillation of V0853 Aur can be attributed to the LTTE by means of a third body with a mass no less than 3.77M_⊙.The third body may play an important role in the formation and evolution of these systems.

Induced neural stem cells regulate microglial activation through Akt-mediated upregulation of CXCR4 and Crry in a mouse model of closed head injury

Microglial activation that occurs rapidly after closed head injury may play important and complex roles in neuroinflammation-associated neuronal damage and repair.We previously reported that induced neural stem cells can modulate the behavior of activated microglia via CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling,influencing their activation such that they can promote neurological recovery.However,the mechanism of CXCR4 upregulation in induced neural stem cells remains unclear.In this study,we found that nuclear factor-κB activation induced by closed head injury mouse serum in microglia promoted CXCL12 and tumor necrosis factor-αexpression but suppressed insulin-like growth factor-1 expression.However,recombinant complement receptor 2-conjugated Crry(CR2-Crry)reduced the effects of closed head injury mouse serum-induced nuclear factor-κB activation in microglia and the levels of activated microglia,CXCL12,and tumor necrosis factor-α.Additionally,we observed that,in response to stimulation(including stimulation by CXCL12 secreted by activated microglia),CXCR4 and Crry levels can be upregulated in induced neural stem cells via the interplay among CXCL12/CXCR4,Crry,and Akt signaling to modulate microglial activation.In agreement with these in vitro experimental results,we found that Akt activation enhanced the immunoregulatory effects of induced neural stem cell grafts on microglial activation,leading to the promotion of neurological recovery via insulin-like growth factor-1 secretion and the neuroprotective effects of induced neural stem cell grafts through CXCR4 and Crry upregulation in the injured cortices of closed head injury mice.Notably,these beneficial effects of Akt activation in induced neural stem cells were positively correlated with the therapeutic effects of induced neural stem cells on neuronal injury,cerebral edema,and neurological disorders post–closed head injury.In conclusion,our findings reveal that Akt activation may enhance the immunoregulatory effects of induced neural stem cells on microglial activation via upregulation of CXCR4 and Crry,thereby promoting induced neural stem cell–mediated improvement of neuronal injury,cerebral edema,and neurological disorders following closed head injury.

Role of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the study of close binaries

This paper is devoted to binary stars belonging to the class of eclipsing-variable systems.Photometric and spectroscopic analysis of eclipses allows us to determine geometric parameters of the orbit and physical characteristics of stellar components as well as inclinations of stellar equators to the orbital plane. Estimations of inclinations can be obtained from measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, which is discussed using examples of some eccentric binaries with an anomalous apsidal effect. Our task is to find the complete spectrum of solutions of the equation of apsidal motion, depending on the inclinations of the polar axes of the components to the orbital one for these systems, based on their individual spectroscopic and photometric observational data. The matrix of solutions allows us to select those pairs of polar inclinations that provide agreement with the observational apsidal period.

Evolution of Angular Momentum and Orbital Period Changes in Close Double White Dwarf Binaries

We have presented the evolution of angular momentum and orbital period changes between the component spins and the orbit in close double white dwarf binaries undergoing mass transfer through direct impact accretion over a broad range of orbital parameter space. This work improves upon similar earlier studies in a number of ways: First, we calculate self-consistently the angular momentum of the orbit at all times. This includes gravitational, tides and mass transfer effects in the orbital evolution of the component structure models, and allow the Roche lobe radius of the donor star and the rotational angular velocities of both components to vary, and account for the exchange of angular momentum between the spins of the white dwarfs and the orbit. Second, we investigate the mass transfer by modeling the ballistic motion of a point mass ejected from the center of the donor star through the inner Lagrangian point. Finally, we ensure that the angular momentum is conserved, which requires the donor star spin to vary self-consistently. With these improvements, we calculate the angular momentum and orbital period changes of the orbit and each binary component across the entire parameter space of direct impact double white dwarf binary systems. We find a significant decrease in the amount of angular momentum removed from the orbit during mass transfer, as well as cases where this process increases the angular momentum and orbital period of the orbit at the expense of the spin angular momentum of the donor and accretor. We find that our analysis yields an increase in the predicted number of stable systems compared to that in the previous studies, survive the onset of mass transfer, even if this mass transfer is initially unstable. In addition, as a consequence of the tidal coupling, systems that come into contact near the mass transfer instability boundary undergo a phase of mass transfer with their orbital period.

Physical properties of three short period close binaries:KIC 2715417,KIC 6050116 and KIC 6287172

We present the physical parameters of three short period close binaries using data observed from the Kepler Space Telescope. All of these observations were taken in a single bandpass(which approximates the Johnson V-band). Our three systems are KIC 2715417, KIC 6050116 and KIC 6287172. The first system, KIC 2715417, is considered a semi-detached system with the secondary component filling its Roche lobe. The second system, KIC 6050116, is an overcontact system, while the third system, KIC 6287172, belongs to ellipsoidal variables as deduced from the Roche lobe geometry. For photometric analysis, we used the PHOEBE software package, which is based on the Wilson-Devinney code. Due to lack of spectroscopic data, the photometric mass ratios are determined from the analyses of light curves using the q-search method. The absolute parameters are determined using three different methods(Harmanec, Maceroni &Van'tVeer and Gazeas & Niarchos).

Photometric study of eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud--I.W UMa type binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Eclipsing binaries are among the most important sources of information on stellar parameters like radii,masses,luminosities,etc.We present the analysis of six W UMa systems discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud using the Wilson-Devinney method.

Photometric study of W UMa type binaries in the intermediate open cluster NGC 7789

The light curve solutions of two W UMa binary systems in the intermediate open cluster NGC 7789 are presented in this paper. These variables were observed using the 2 m telescope of the IUCAA-Girawali Observatory. The V passband photo- metric solutions of the two W UMa binaries were obtained using the latest version of the W-D program. The result shows that both systems are H-subtype W UMa binaries with high mass ratios.

Population synthesis of ultra-compact X-ray binaries

Ultra-compact X-ray binaries （UCXBs） are very interesting and impor- tant objects. By taking the population synthesis approach to the evolution of binaries, we carry out a detailed study of UCXBs. We estimate that there are - 5000-10000 UCXBs in the Galaxy, and their birthrates are - 2.6-7.5×10-4 yr-1. Most UCXBs are transient X-ray sources, but their X-ray luminosities are much lower than those of persistent sources. Therefore, the majority of observed UCXBs should be persistent sources. About 40% - 70% of neutron stars （NSs） in UCXBs form via an accretion- induced collapse from an accreting ONe white dwarf （WD）, 1%-10% of NSs in UCXBs form via core-collapse supernovae and others form via the evolution-induced collapse of a naked helium star. About 50% - 80% of UCXBs have naked helium star donors, 5% - 10% of UCXBs have HeWD donors, 15% - 40% of UCXBs have COWD donors and UCXBs with ONeWD indicates that the uncertainty mainly comes which develops in these systems. donors are negligible. Our investigation from evolution of the common-envelope

Measuring the orbital periods of low mass X-ray binaries in the X-ray band

A low mass X-ray binary （LMXB） contains either a neutron star or a black hole accreting materials from its low mass companion star. It is one of the primary astrophysical sources for studying stellar-mass compact objects and accreting phe- nomena. As with other binary systems, the most important parameter of an LMXB is the orbital period, which allows us to learn about the nature of the binary system and constrain the properties of the system＇s components, including the compact ob- ject. As a result, measuring the orbital periods of LMXBs is essential for investigating these systems even though fewer than half of them have known orbital periods. This article introduces the different methods for measuring the orbital periods in the X-ray band and reviews their application to various types of LMXBs, such as eclipsing and dipping sources, as well as pulsar LMXBs.

Discovery of four W UMa type eclipsing binaries in the field of open cluster ASCC 5

We carried out time-series photometric observations in the Re-band of the young, poorly studied open cluster ASCC 5 during November and December, 2012, to search for magnetically active stars, and discovered four eclipsing binary stars in this field. In order to characterize these four newly discovered binaries, we derived their orbital periods by their times of light minimum, estimated their effective tem- peratures based on their （J - H） colors and analyzed their light curves using the Wilson-Devinney light curve modeling technique. Our analyses reveal that all of them are contact binaries with short orbital periods of less than 0.5 d, with spectral types from late-F to mid-K. Among them, one is a typical A subtype contact binary with a mass ratio around 0.5 and a period of 0.44 d, and one is an H subtype contact binary with a high mass ratio around 0.9 and a short period of about 0.27 d. The other two systems show low amplitudes of light variation （Ant 〈0.11m）; their actual photomet- ric mass ratios could not be determined by the light curve modelings, probably due to their attributes of being partially eclipsing stars. A preliminary analysis for these two systems indicates that both of them are likely to be W subtype contact binaries with low orbital inclinations. In addition, both of these two low amplitude variables show asymmetric distorted light curves （e.g., O＇Connell effect of ARc --~0.02m） during the observing runs, suggesting the presence of starspots on these two systems. More inter- estingly, the one showing a large case of the O＇Connell effect presented a remarkable variation in the shape of the light curve on a time scale of one day, indicating that this star is in a very active state. Therefore, these two stars need spectroscopic observations to precisely determine their parameters, as well as further photometric observations to understand the properties of their magnetic activity, e.g., the evolution of starspots.

Evolution of low-mass X-ray binaries:dependence on the massof the compact object

We perform numerical calculations to simulate the evolution of low-mass X-ray binary systems. For the accreting compact object we consider the initial mass of 1.4, 10, 20, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Mo, corresponding to neutron stars （NSs）, stellar- mass black holes （BHs） and intermediate-mass BHs. Mass transfer in these binaries is driven by nuclear evolution of the donors and/or orbital angular momentum loss due to magnetic braking and gravitational wave radiation. For the different systems, we determine their bifurcation periods Pbif that separate the formation of converging systems from the diverging ones, and show that Pbif changes from ~ 1 d to ≥ 3 d for a 1 Mo donor star, with increasing initial accretor mass from 1.4 to 1000 Mo. This means that the dominant mechanism of orbital angular momentum loss changes from magnetic braking to gravitational radiation. As an illustration we compare the evolution of binaries consisting of a secondary star of 1 Mo at a fixed initial period of 2 d. In the case of the NS or stellar-mass BH accretor, the system evolves to a well-detached He white dwarf-neutron star/black hole pair, but it evolves to an ultra- compact binary if the compact object is an intermediate-mass BH. Thus the binary evolution heavily depends upon the mass of the compact object. However, we show that the final orbital period-white dwarf mass relation found for NS low-mass X-ray binaries is fairly insensitive to the initial mass of the accreting star, even if it is an intermediate-mass BH.

Physical properties and catalog of EW-type eclipsing binaries observed byLAMOST

EW-type eclipsing binaries(hereafter called EWs)are strong interacting systems in which both component stars usually fill their critical Roche lobes and share a common envelope.Numerous EWs were discovered by several deep photometric surveys and there were about 40 785 EW-type binary systems listed in the international variable star index(VSX)by 2017 March 13.7938 of them were observed with LAMOST by 2016 November 30 and their spectral types were identified.Stellar atmospheric parameters of 5363 EW-type binary stars were determined based on good spectroscopic observations.In the paper,those EWs are cataloged and their properties are analyzed.The distributions of orbital period(P),effective temperature(T),gravitational acceleration(log(g)),metallicity([Fe/H])and radial velocity(RV)are presented for these observed EW-type systems.It is shown that about 80.6% of sample stars have metallicity below zero,indicating that EW-type systems are old stellar populations.This is in agreement with the conclusion that EW binaries are formed from moderately close binaries through angular momentum loss via magnetic braking that takes a few hundred million to a few billion years.The unusually high metallicities of a few percent of EWs may be caused by contamination of material from the evolution of unseen neutron stars or black holes in the systems.The correlations between orbital period and effective temperature,gravitational acceleration and metallicity are presented and their scatters are mainly caused by(i)the presence of third bodies and(ii)sometimes wrongly determined periods.It is shown that some EWs contain evolved component stars and the physical properties of EWs mainly depend on their orbital periods.It is found that extremely short-period EWs may be older than their long-period cousins because they have lower metallicities.This reveals that they have a longer timescale of pre-contact evolution and their formation and evolution are mainly driven by angular momentum loss via magnetic braking.

The double helium-white dwarf channel for the formation of AM CVn binaries

Most close double helium white dwarfs will merge within a Hubble time due to orbital decay by gravitational wave radiation.However,a significant fraction with low mass ratios will survive for a long time as a consequence of stable mass transfer.Such stable mass transfer between two helium white dwarfs（He WDs） provides one channel for the production of AM CVn binary stars.In previous calculations of double He WD progenitors,the accreting He WD was treated as a point mass.We have computed the evolution of 16 double He WD models in order to investigate the consequences of treating the evolution of both components in detail.We find that the boundary between binaries having stable and unstable mass transfer is slightly modified by this approach.By comparing with observed periods and mass ratios,we redetermine masses of eight known AM CVn stars by our double He WDs channel,i.e.HM Cnc,AM CVn,V406 Hya,J0926,J1240,GP Com,Gaia14 aae and V396 Hya.We propose that central spikes in the triple-peaked emission spectra of J1240,GP Com and V396 Hya and the surface abundance ratios of N/C/O in GP Com can be explained by the stable double He WD channel.The mass estimates derived from our calculations are used to discuss the predicted gravitational wave signal in the context of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna（LISA） project.

Spin Evolution of Neutron Stars in OB/X-ray Binaries

We have investigated the relation between the orbital period Porb and the spin period Ps of neutron stars in OB/X-ray binaries. By simulating the time-development of the mass loss rate and radius expansion of a 20M☉ donor star, we have calculated the detailed spin evolution of the neutron star before steady wind accretion occurs (that is, when the break spin period is reached), or when the OB star begins evolving off the main sequence or has filled its Roche lobe. Our results are compatible with the observations of OB/X-ray binaries. We find that in relatively narrow systems with orbital periods less than tens of days, neutron stars with initial magnetic field B0 stronger than about 3×1012 G can reach the break spin period to allow steady wind accretion in the main sequence time, whereas neutron stars with B0 < 3×1012 G and/or in wide systems would still be in one of the pulsar, rapid rotator or propeller phases when the companion evolves off the main sequence or fills its Roche lobe. Our results may help understand the various characteristics of the observed OB/neutron star binaries along with their distributions in the Ps-Porb diagram.

The W UMa binaries USNO-A2.0 1350-17365531,V471 Cas,V479 Lac and V560 Lac:light curve solutions and global parameters based on Gaia distances

We present photometric observations in Sloan filters g′, i′of the eclipsing W UMa stars USNOA2.0 1350-17365531, V471 Cas, V479 Lac and V560 Lac. The sinusoidal-like O-C diagram of V471 Cas indicates the presence of a third body with mass 0.12 M_⊙(a red dwarf) at distance 897 R_⊙. The O-C diagram of V479 Lac reveals a period decrease of d P/dt =-1.69 × 10-6d yr-1. The results of the light curve solutions are:(i) the targets are overcontact binaries with small fill-out factors;(ii) their components are F–K stars, comparable in size, whose temperature differences are below 80 K;(iii) all targets undergo partial eclipses and to limit the possible mass ratios we carried out two-step q-search analysis. The target global parameters(luminosities, radii, masses) were obtained on the basis of their Gaia distances and the results of our light curve solutions. The obtained total mass of V560 Lac turns out to be smaller than the lower mass limit for presently known W UMa binaries of 1.0-1.2 M_⊙, i.e. this target is a peculiar overcontact system.

Photometric investigation and orbital period analyses of the W UMa binaries FP Lyn, FV CVn and V354 UMa

New light curves and photometric solutions of FP Lyn,FV CVn and V354 UMa are presented.We found that these three systems are W-subtype shallow contact binaries.In addition,it is obvious that the light curves of FP Lyn and V354 UMa are asymmetric.Therefore,a hot spot was added on the primary star of FP Lyn and a dark spot was added on the secondary star of V354 UMa.At the same time,we added a third light to the photometric solution of FP Lyn for the final result.The obtained mass ratios and fill-out factors are q = 1.153 and f = 13.4% for FP Lyn,q = 1.075 and f = 4.6% for FV CVn,and q = 3.623 and f = 10.7% for V354 UMa respectively.The investigations of orbital period for these three systems indicate that the periods are variable.FP Lyn and V354 UMa were discovered to have secularly increasing components with rates of dp/dt = 4.19 ×10^-7 dyr^-1 and dp/dt = 7.70 ×10^-7 dyr^-1 respectively,which are feasibly caused by conservative mass transfer from the less massive component to the more massive component.In addition,some variable components were discovered for FV CVn,including a rate of dp/dt =-1.13 ×10^-6 dyr^-1 accompanied by a cyclic oscillation with amplitude and period of 0.0069 d and 10.65 yr respectively.The most likely explanation for the long-term decrease is angular momentum loss.The existence of an additional star is the most plausible explanation for the periodic variation.

Reanalysis of the orbital period variations of two DLMR overcontact binaries:FG Hya and GR Vir

We investigate orbital period changes of two deep, low mass ratio（DLMR） overcontact W UMa-type binaries, FG Hya and GR Vir. It is found that the orbital period of FG Hya shows a cyclic change with a period of Pmod= 54.44 yr. The cyclic oscillation may be due to a third body in an eccentric orbit, while the orbital period of GR Vir shows a periodic variation with a period of Pmod= 28.56 yr and an amplitude of A = 0.0352 d. The periodic variation of GR Vir can be interpreted as a result of either the light-time effect of an unseen third body or the magnetic activity cycle.

Two particular EA-type binaries in the globular cluster ω Centauri

We analyzed the B and V light curves of two EA-type binaries V211 and NV358 for the first time using the Wilson-Devinney code. Our analysis shows that V211 is a typical Algol-type binary and NV358 is a well detached binary system. As the two binaries are definite members of ω Centauri due to their proper motion, we estimated their physical parameters, obtaining M1 = 1.13 4±0.03 M⊙, R1 = 0.98±0.01 R⊙, M2 = 0.33 ±0.01 M⊙ and R2 = 0.92 ±0.01 R⊙ forV211; M1 = 1.304-0.05 M⊙, R1 = 1.03±0.01 R⊙, M2 = 0.58±0.02 M⊙ and R2 = 0.78±0.01 R⊙ for NV358. On the color-magnitude diagram of ω Centauri, V211 is located in the faint blue straggler region and its primary component is more massive than a star at the main-sequence turnoff. Therefore, V211 is a blue straggler and was formed by mass transfer from the secondary component to the primary. The age of NV358 is less than 1.93 Gyr, indicating that it is much younger than the first generation of stars in ω Centaufi. Like NV364 in ω Centaufi, NV358 should be a second-generation binary.

Investigations into the thermal non-equilibrium of W UMa-type contact binaries

Traditionally, some physical details（e.g., magnetic braking, energy transfer, angular momentum loss, etc.） have to be taken into consideration during investigations into the evolution of contact binaries. However, the real evolutionary processes which usually contain several of these physical mechanisms are very complicated as a result of strong interaction between components. To avoid dealing with these factors, a linear relationship is applied to the temperatures of components. It is found that the higher the mass ratio（M2/M1） of a contact system, the weaker the deviation from thermal equilibrium.On this basis, a variation trend of fill-out factor（f） changing with mass ratio can be inferred, which is consistent with observations. Moreover, if we stick to this point of view, it should be natural that the number of semi-detached binaries in the predicted broken-contact phase of relaxation oscillations is less than the number in the contact phase.

Photometric study of W UMa type binaries in the old open cluster Berkeley 39

The study of W UMa binary systems gives a wealth of information about their nature as well as their parent bodies （if any）, like clusters. In this paper, we present the I passband photometric solutions of four W UMa binaries in the open cluster Berkeley 39 using the latest version of the W-D program. The result shows that two binary systems are W-subtype W UMa binary systems and the other two systems are H-subtype W UMa binary systems. No third body has been found in any of the four systems. We found a correlation between the period and mass-ratio as well as temperature and mass-ratio for the respective variables, which is similar to the relationship between mass ratio and total mass of the contact binaries as shown by van＇t Veer and Li et al.