Effects of the Mass Transfer and Presence of the Third Components in Close Binary Stellar Systems

TL;DR

This study analyzes six close binary star systems, revealing mass transfer effects and potential third components through O-C curve analysis, providing new insights into their orbital dynamics and system composition.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed O-C analysis of these six systems, identifying mass transfer and third components, and calculates related physical parameters.

Findings

All stars exhibit parabolic O-C curves indicating mass transfer.

Three stars show cyclic variations suggesting third components.

Calculated minimal masses of third components and mass transfer rates.

Abstract

In our research, we have studied 6 close binary stellar systems which are eclipsing variables of $\beta$ Lyrae and W Ursae Majoris types of variability. We have studied their O-C curves. To build them, we used moments of minima, listed in the BRNO database. Also, we used ones, which we obtained as the result of processing of observational data taken from AAVSO database. As the result of the O-C analysis, we detected that all of these stars have parabolic O-C curves, which might be caused by mass transfer from one component to another. In an addition, 3 from researched stars (U Peg, V0523 Cas and WZ Cyg) have superimposed parabolic and cyclic O-C changes that could be caused by presence of the third components in the systems. Also, we calculated minimal possible masses of third components, rates of the mass transfer for these systems and corrected the ephemerides.