Fundamental parameters of RR Lyrae stars from multicolour photometry and Kurucz atmospheric models -- III. SW And, DH Peg, CU Com, DY Peg

TL;DR

This study uses multicolour photometry and atmospheric models to determine fundamental parameters of several RR Lyrae stars, revealing unique characteristics and challenges in modeling some stars' atmospheres.

Contribution

It applies a photometric-hydrodynamic method to derive detailed stellar parameters for multiple RR Lyrae stars, including peculiar cases like DY Peg and DH Peg, expanding understanding of their properties.

Findings

SW And has a very small mass of 0.26 M_Sun.

CU Com's parameters match a typical double-mode RR Lyrae star.

DY Peg exhibits paradoxical properties, blending features of Delta Sct and RR Lyrae stars.

Abstract

We report the most comprehensive UBV(RI)_C observations of the bright, radially pulsating field stars SW And, DH Peg, CU Com, DY Peg. Long term variation has been found in the ultraviolet colour curves of SW And and DH Peg. We apply our photometric-hydrodynamic method to determine the fundamental parameters of these stars: metallicity, reddening, distance, mass, radius, equilibrium luminosity and effective temperature. Our method works well for SW And, CU Com and DY Peg. A very small mass 0.26+/-0.04 M_Sun of SW And has been found. The fundamental parameters of CU Com are those of a normal double-mode RR Lyrae (RRd) star. DY Peg has been found to have paradoxical astrophysical parameters: the metallicity, mass and period are characteristic for a high-amplitude Delta Sct star while the luminosity and radius place it in the group of RR Lyrae stars. DH Peg has been found to be peculiar: the definite instability in the colour curves towards ultraviolet, the dynamical variability of the atmosphere during the shocked phases suggests that the main assumptions of our photometric-hydrodynamic method, the quasi-static atmosphere approximation (QSAA) and the exclusive excitation of radial modes are probably not satisfied in this star. The fundamental parameters of all stars studied in this series of papers are summarized in tabular and graphical form.