X-ray emission of contact binary variables within 1 kpc

TL;DR

This study analyzes X-ray emissions from contact binary stars within 1 kpc, revealing correlations with orbital period and temperature, and suggesting primary stars dominate X-ray activity, with implications for stellar magnetic activity and evolution.

Contribution

It provides the largest sample analysis of X-ray emitting EW-type binaries, establishing new correlations and predictive relations involving orbital period and stellar parameters.

Findings

Strong correlations between orbital period and X-ray luminosity for P < 0.44 days.

X-ray activity level decreases with increasing effective temperature.

Primary stars likely dominate the X-ray emission in contact binaries.

Abstract

By assembling the largest sample to date of X-ray emitting EW-type binaries (EWXs), we carried out correlation analyses for the X-ray luminosity log$L_{\textrm{X}}$, and X-ray activity level log($L_{\textrm{X}}$/$L_{\textrm{bol}}$) versus the orbital period $P$ and effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$. We find strong $P$-log$L_{\textrm{X}}$ and $P$-log($L_{\textrm{X}}$/$L_{\textrm{bol}}$) correlations for EWXs with $P$ < 0.44 days and we provide the linear parametrizations for these relations, on the basis of which the orbital period can be treated as a good predictor for log$L_{\textrm{X}}$ and log($L_{\textrm{X}}$/$L_{\textrm{bol}}$). The aforementioned binary stellar parameters are all correlated with log$L_{\textrm{X}}$, while only $T_{\rm eff}$ exhibits a strong correlation with log($L_{\textrm{X}}$/$L_{\textrm{bol}}$). Then, EWXs with higher temperature show lower X-ray activity level, which could indicate the thinning of the convective area related to the magnetic dynamo mechanism. The total X-ray luminosity of an EWX is essentially consistent with that of an X-ray saturated main sequence star with the same mass as its primary, which may imply that the primary star dominates the X-ray emission. The monotonically decreasing $P$-log($L_{\textrm{X}}$/$L_{\textrm{bol}}$) relation and the short orbital periods indicate that EWXs could all be in the X-ray saturated state, and they may inherit the changing trend of the saturated X-ray luminosities along with the mass shown by single stars. For EWXs, the orbital period, mass, and effective temperature increase in concordance. We demonstrate that the period $P=0.44$ days corresponds to the primary mass of $\sim1.1 \rm M_\odot$, beyond which the saturated X-ray luminosity of single stars will not continue to increase with mass. This explains the break in the positive $P$-log$L_{\textrm{X}}$ relation for EWXs with $P>0.44$ days.