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.

Light curve solutions of six eclipsing binaries at the lower limit of periods for W UMa stars

Photometric observations are presented in V and I bands of six eclipsing binaries at the lower limit of the orbital periods for W UMa stars. Three of them are newly discovered eclipsing systems. The light curve solutions reveal that all shortperiod targets are contact or overcontact binaries and six new binaries are added to the family of short-period systems with estimated parameters. Four binaries have com- ponents that are equal in size and a mass ratio near 1. The phase variability shown by the V-I colors of all targets may be explained by lower temperatures on their back surfaces than those on their side surfaces. Five systems exhibit the O＇Connell effect that can be modeled by cool spots on the side surfaces of their primary components. The light curves of V1067 Her in 2011 and 2012 are fitted by diametrically opposite spots. Applying the criteria for subdivision of W UMa stars to our targets leads to ambiguous results.

Absolute parameters of the three totally-eclipsing W UMa stars NSVS 2443858,NSVS 780649 and V1098 Her

We present the first photometric analysis of three totally-eclipsing W UMa binaries,NS VS2443858,NSVS 780649 and V1098 Her.The absolute astrophysical parameters of the stellar components were determined by means of Gaia distances and light curve solutions.The results show that:(ⅰ)Two of the systems,NSVS 2443858 and V1098 Her,are of A subtype while the obtained temperature of the secondary component of NSVS 780649 indicates that it is a W-subtype system;(ⅱ)The estimated mass ratios approach the lower limit of the mass ratio assumed by researchers in recent years so our targets could be classified as extreme mass ratio binary(EMRB)systems;(ⅲ)All the systems have deep contact configurations,so they also are deep low mass ratio(DLMR)systems;(ⅳ)The components of our systems are stars of F and G spectral type and undergo total eclipses;(ⅴ)The sum 0.871 M⊙of the component masses of NSVS 780649 is below the mass limit of 1.0-1.2 M⊙assumed for the known contact binary stars.

GSC 4560–02157: a new long-period eclipsing cataclysmic variable star

We study the newly discovered variable star GSC 4560-02157. CCD photometry was performed in 2013-2014 at the Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory,and a spectrum was obtained with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory in June, 2014. GSC 4560-02157 is demonstrated to be an eclipsing variable star（P = 0.265359d）. All its flat-bottom primary minima are approximately at the same brightness level, but the star＇s out-of-eclipse brightness and brightness at secondary minima vary considerably（by up to 0.6m） from cycle to cycle. Moreover,there are short-term（time scale of 0.03-0.04 days） small-amplitude brightness variations out of eclipse. This behavior suggests a cataclysmic nature for the star, which is confirmed with a spectrum taken on 2014 June 5. The spectrum shows numerous emissions of the hydrogen Balmer series, He Ⅰ and He Ⅱ.

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.

Analysis of TESS Field Eclipsing Binary Star V948 Her: A Pulsating or Non-pulsating Star?

Pulsating stars occupy a significant place in the H-R diagram and it was thought that all stars inside the classical instability strip should pulsate. However, recent studies showed that there are many non-pulsating stars located inside the classical instability strip. The existence of these non-pulsating stars is still a mystery. To deeply understand the properties of these non-pulsating and pulsating stars, one needs precise fundamental stellar parameters(e.g. mass).For this purpose, the eclipsing binaries are unique systems. Hence, in this study, we present the TESS data analysis of one candidate pulsating eclipsing binary system, V948 Her. TESS data were used for the binary modeling with the literature radial velocity measurements, and the precise fundamental parameters of the system were obtained. The system’s age was derived as 1 ± 0.24 Gyr. The positions of the binary components in the H-R diagram were examined and the primary component was found inside the δ Scuti instability strip. However, in the frequency analysis of TESS data, we found no significant pulsation frequencies. Only the harmonics of the orbital periods were obtained in the analysis. Therefore, the system was classified as a non-pulsator. V948 Her is an important object to understand the nature of non-pulsating stars inside the δ Scuti instability strip.

Candidate Eclipsing Binary Systems with aδScuti Star in Northern TESS Field

The existence of pulsating stars in eclipsing binaries has been known for decades.These types of objects are extremely valuable systems for astronomical studies as they exhibit both eclipse and pulsation variations.The eclipsing binaries are the only way to directly measure the mass and radius of stars with a good accuracy(≤1%),while the pulsations are a unique way to probe the stellar interior via oscillation frequencies.There are different types of pulsating stars existing in eclipsing binaries.One of them is theδScuti variables.Currently,the known number ofδScuti stars in eclipsing binaries is around 90 according to the latest catalog of these variables.An increasing number of these kinds of variables is important to understand the stellar structure,evolution and the effect of binarity on the pulsations.Therefore,in this study,we focus on discovering new eclipsing binaries withδScuti component(s).We searched within the northern Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite(TESS)field with a visual inspection by following some criteria such as light curve shape,the existence of pulsation like variations in the out-of-eclipse light curve and the T_(eff) values of the targets.As a result of these criteria,we discovered some targets.The orbital variations were first removed from the TESS light curves and frequency analysis was performed on the residuals.The luminosity,and absolute and bolometric magnitudes of the targets were calculated as well.To find how much of these parameters represent the primary(more luminous)binary component,we also computed the flux density ratio of the systems by utilizing the area of the eclipses.In addition,the positions of the systems in the H-R diagram were examined considering the flux density ratios.As a consequence of the investigation,we defined 38 candidateδScuti stars and also one Maia variable in eclipsing binary systems.

XMM-Newton observation of the eclipsing binary Algol

We present an XMM-Newton observation of the eclipsing binary Algol which contains an X-ray dark B8V primary and an X-ray bright K2IV secondary. The observation covered the optical secondary eclipse and captured an X-ray flare that was eclipsed by the B star. The XMM-Newton European Photon Imaging Camera and Reflection Grating Spectrometer spectra of Algol in its quiescent state are described by a two-temperature plasma model. The cool component has a temperature around 6.4× 106 K while that of the hot component ranges from 2 to 4.0× 107 K. Coronal abundances of C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe were obtained for each component for both the quiescent and the flare phases, generally with upper limits for S and Ar, and upper limits for C, N, and O from the hot component. F-tests show that the abundances do not need to be different between the cool and the hot component and between the quiescent and the flare phase with the exception of Fe. Although the Fe abundance of the cool component remains constant at -0.14, the hot component shows an Fe abundance of -0.28, which increases to -0.44 during the flare. This increase is expected from the chromospheric evaporation model. The absorbing column density NH of the quiescent emission is 2.5 - 1020 cm-2, while that of the flare-only emission is significantly lower and consistent with the column density of the interstellar medium. This observation substantiates earlier suggestions of the presence of X-ray absorbing material in the Algol system.

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.

First photometric study of the eclipsing binary PS Persei

CCD photometric observations of the eclipsing binary PS Persei （PS Per） were obtained on two consecutive days in 2009.The 2003 version of the WilsonDevinney code was used to analyze the first complete light curves in the V and R bands.It is found that PS Per is a short-period Algol-type binary with the less massive component completely filling its inner critical Roche lobe.The mass ratio of q=0.518 and the orbital inclination of i=89.86° are obtained.In addition,based on all available times of primary light minima,including two new ones,the orbital period has been improved.

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.

Test observations that search for metal-poor stars with the Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST)

Metal-deficient stars are regarded as fossils of the early generation of stars and therefore make crucial observational targets related to stellar astrophysics. They provide fundamental information and insights on properties of the very early stage of the chemical history of the Galaxy and have been investigated for decades. The unique design of the Guoshoujing Telescope （LAMOST）, such as its large field and multi-object observational capability, enables it to be an excellent tool for searching for these metal-poor stars in the Milky Way. This work reports the result of test observations which search for metal-poor stars with LAMOST, during which nine candidate metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] ≤ - 1.0 were newly detected based on the low-resolution spectroscopic observations of the LAMOST commissioning data. The sample of stars demonstrates the efficiency of selecting from the input catalog, as well as the ability of LAMOST to enlarge the sample of metal-poor stars in the Milky Way. Furthermore, the sample of stars could be used for future calibrations of the LAMOST stellar pa- rameter pipeline.

NSVS 1908107, an EB-type eclipsing binary in the open cluster NGC 869

We present a time-series BV CCD photometry for an EB-type eclipsing binary NSVS 1908107, a member of the young open cluster NGC 869. The photometric solution was obtained by using the 2003 version of the Wilson-Devinney code. It reveals that the system is a semi-detached binary with the secondary component filling its Roche lobe. The mass ratio was determined to be 0.059±0.001. With the physical parameters of the cluster, the masses, radii and luminosities of the two components of NSVS 1908107 are estimated to be M1 = 10.34±2.29 M⊙, R1 = 4.65re±0.34 Rspectivel⊙, L1 = 8076 y. The results s±371 L = 2.40 how tha⊙and M2 = 0.61 t the secondary co±0.13M⊙, R2±0.17 R⊙, L2 = 1054±48 L⊙mponent could be a giant or subgiant star with the outer envelope being stripped.

A search for strongly Mg-enhanced stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Strongly Mg-enhanced stars with [Mg/Fe] 〉 1.0 show peculiar abundance patterns and hence are of great interest for our understanding of stellar formation and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. A systematic search for strongly Mg-enhanced stars based on low-resolution （R≈2000） spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） is carried out by finding the synthetic spectrum that best matches the observed one in the region of Mg I b lines around λ5170 ,A via a profile matching method. The advantage of our method is that fitting parameters are refined by reproducing the [Mg/Fe] ratios of 47 stars from the very precise high-resolution spectroscopic （HRS） analysis by Nissen ＆ Schuster; and these parameters are crucial to the precision and validity of the derived Mg abundances. As a further check of our method, Mg abun- dances are estimated with our method for member stars in four Galactic globular clus- ters （M92, M 13, M3, M71） which cover the same metallicity range as our sample, and the results are in good agreement with those of HRS analysis in the literature. The val- idation of our method is also demonstrated by the agreement of [Mg/Fe] between our values and those of HRS analysis by Aoki et al. Finally, 33 candidates of strongly Mg- enhanced stars with [Mg/Fe]〉 1.0 are selected from 14 850 F and G stars. Follow-up observations will be carried out on these candidates with high-resolution spectroscopy by large telescopes in the near future, so as to check our selection procedure and to perform a precise and detailed abundance analysis and to explore the origins of these stars.

Multi-color light curves and orbital period research of eclipsing binary V1073 Cyg

New multi-color BVRcIc photometric observations are presented for the W UMa type eclips- ing binary V1073 Cyg. The multi-color light curve analysis with the Wilson-Devinney procedure yielded the absolute parameters of this system, showing that V 1073 Cyg is a shallow contact binary system with a fill-out factor f = 0.124（±0.011）. We collected all available times of light minima spanning 119yr, including CCD data to construct the O - C curve, and performed detailed O - C analysis. The O - C diagram shows that the period change is complex. A long-term continuous decrease and a cyclic vari- ation exist. The period is decreasing at a rate ofP = -1.04（±0.18） × 10-10 d cycle-land, with the period decrease, V1073 Cyg will evolve to the deep contact stage. The cyclic variation with a period of P3 = 82.7（±3.6） yr and an amplitude of A = 0.028（±0.002） d may be explained by magnetic activ- ity of one or both components or the light travel time effect caused by a distant third companion with M3（i1 = 90°） = 0.511 M⊙.

Polarization variability arising from clumps in the winds of Wolf-Rayet stars

Polarimetric and photometric variability of Wolf-Rayet （WR） stars as caused by clumps in the winds is revisited. In our model, which is improved from Li et al., radial expansion of the thickness is accounted for, but we retain dependence on the β velocity law and stellar occultation effects. We again search for parameters that can yield results consistent with observations in regards to the mean polarization p, the ratio R = σp/σphot of polarimetric to photometric variability and the volume filling factor fV. Clump generation and spatial distribution are randomized by the Monte Carlo method so as to produce clumps which are, in the mean, distributed uniformly in space and have time intervals that obey a Gaussian distribution. The generated clumps move radially outward with a velocity law determined by a β index, and the angular size of clumps is assumed to be fixed. By fitting the observed σp/σphot and the volume filling factor fv, clump velocity taw index β （- 2） and clump ejection rate .N （- 1） are inferred, and are found to be well constrained. In addition, the subpeak features of broad emission lines seem to support the clump ejection rate. Meanwhile, the fraction of total mass loss rate that is contained in clumps is obtained by fitting observed polarization. We conclude that this picture of the clumps＇ properties produces a valuable diagnostic of WR wind structure.

Merging strangeon stars

The state of supranuclear matter in compact stars remains puzzling, and it is argued that pul- sars could be strangeon stars. What would happen if binary strangeon stars merge？ This kind of merger could result in the formation of a hyper-massive strangeon star, accompanied by bursts of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation （and even a strangeon kilonova explained in the paper）. The tidal polarizability of binary strangeon stars is different from that of binary neutron stars, because a strangeon star is self-bound on the surface by the fundamental strong force while a neutron star by the gravity, and their equations of state are different. Our calculation shows that the tidal polarizability of merging bi- nary strangeon stars is favored by GW170817. Three kinds of kilonovae （i.e., of neutron, quark and strangeon） are discussed, and the light curve of the kilonova AT 2017gfo following GW170817 could be explained by considering the decaying strangeon nuggets and remnant star spin-down. Additionally, the energy ejected to the fireball around the nascent remnant strangeon star, being manifested as a gamma-ray burst, is calculated. It is found that, after a prompt burst, an X-ray plateau could follow in a timescale of 102 - 103 s. Certainly, the results could be tested also by further observational synergies between gravitational wave detectors （e.g., Advanced LIGO） and X-ray telescopes （e.g., the Chinese HXMT satellite and eXTP mission）, and especially if the detected gravitational wave form is checked by peculiar equations of state provided by the numerical relativistical simulation.

Resonant cyclotron scattering in pulsar magnetospheres and its application to isolated neutron stars

Resonant cyclotron scattering （RCS） in pulsar magnetospheres is considered. The photon diffusion equation （Kompaneets equation） for RCS is derived. The photon system is modeled three dimensionally. Numerical calculations show that there exist not only up scattering but also down scattering of RCS, depending on the parameter space. RCS＇s possible applications to spectral energy distributions of magnetar candidates and radio quiet isolated neutron stars （INSs） are pointed out. The optical/UV excess of INSs may be caused by the down scattering of RCS. The calculations for RX J1856.5-3754 and RX J0720.4-3125 are presented and compared with their observational data. In our model, the INSs are proposed to be normal neutron stars, although the quark star hypothesis is still possible. The low pulsation amplitude of INSs is a natural consequence in the RCS model.

Velocity Curve Analysis of Spectroscopic Binary Stars AI Phe,GM Dra,HD 93917 and V502 Oph by Nonlinear Regression

We introduce a new method to derive the orbital parameters of spectroscopic binary stars by nonlinear least squares of （o - c）. Using the measured radial velocity data of the four double lined spectroscopic binary systems, AI Phe, GM Dra, HD 93917 and V502 Oph, we derived both the orbital and combined spectroscopic elements of these systems. Our numerical results are in good agreement with the those obtained using the method of Lehmann-Filhés.

Long-term evolution and gravitational wave radiation of neutron stars with differential rotation induced by r-modes

In a second-order r-mode theory, Sa and Tome found that the r-mode oscillation in neutron stars （NSs） could induce stellar differential rotation, which naturally leads to a saturated state of the oscillation. Based on a consideration of the coupling of the r-modes and the stellar spin and thermal evolution, we carefully investigate the influences of the differential rotation on the long-term evolution of isolated NSs and NSs in low-mass X-ray binaries, where the viscous damping of the r-modes and its resultant effects are taken into account. The numerical results show that, for both kinds of NSs, the differential rotation can significantly prolong the duration of the r-modes. As a result, the stars can keep nearly a constant temperature and constant angular velocity for over a thousand years. Moreover, the persistent radiation of a quasi-monochromatic gravitational wave would also be predicted due to the long-term steady r-mode oscillation and stellar rotation. This increases the detectability of gravitational waves from both young isolated and old accreting NSs.