No Arabic abstract
We calculate the flux received from a binary system obscured by a circumbinary disc. The disc is modelled using two dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, and the vertical structure is derived by assuming it is isothermal. The gravitational torque from the binary creates a cavity in the discs inner parts. If the line of sight along which the system is observed has a high inclination $I$, it intersects the disc and some absorption is produced. As the system is not axisymmetric, the resulting light curve displays variability. We calculate the absorption and produce light curves for different values of the dust disc aspect ratio $H/r$ and mass of dust in the cavity $M_{rm dust}$. This model is applied to the high inclination ($I=85^{circ}$) eclipsing binary CoRoT 223992193, which shows 5-10% residual photometric variability after the eclipses and a spot model are subtracted. We find that such variations for $I sim 85^{circ}$ can be obtained for $H/r=10^{-3}$ and $M_{rm dust} ge 10^{-12}$ M$_{odot}$. For higher $H/r$, $M_{rm dust}$ would have to be close to this lower value and $I$ somewhat less than $85^{circ}$. Our results show that such variability in a system where the stars are at least 90% visible at all phases can be obtained only if absorption is produced by dust located inside the cavity. If absorption is dominated by the parts of the disc located close to or beyond the edge of the cavity, the stars are significantly obscured.
HS0705+6700 (also identified as V470 Cam) is a short period (2.3 h) post common envelope detached eclipsing sdB binary system which exhibits transit time variations (TTVs) of a cyclical nature. We report a further 25 timings of light minima and show that our new TTVs support and extend this cyclical pattern to 1.6 periods. We examine possible causes of the observed TTVs and confirm that the presence of a third, and possibly a fourth, body could provide an elegant explanation of these cyclical variations. However other non-circumbinary mechanisms, e.g. Applegate magnetic dynamo effects, will remain possible contenders until sufficient data has been accumulated to demonstrate that the periodicity of the TTVs is time independent.
IRAS~04158+2805 has long been thought to be a very low mass T-Tauri star (VLMS) surrounded by a nearly edge-on, extremely large disc. Recent observations revealed that this source hosts a binary surrounded by an extended circumbinary disc with a central dust cavity. In this paper, we combine ALMA multi-wavelength observations of continuum and $^{12}$CO line emission, with H$alpha$ imaging and Keck astrometric measures of the binary to develop a coherent dynamical model of this system. The system features an azimuthal asymmetry detected at the western edge of the cavity in Band~7 observations and a wiggling outflow. Dust emission in ALMA Band 4 from the proximity of the individual stars suggests the presence of marginally resolved circumstellar discs. We estimate the binary orbital parameters from the measured arc of the orbit from Keck and ALMA astrometry. We further constrain these estimates using considerations from binary-disc interaction theory. We finally perform three SPH gas + dust simulations based on the theoretical constraints; we post-process the hydrodynamic output using radiative transfer Monte Carlo methods and directly compare the models with observations. Our results suggest that a highly eccentric $esim 0.5textrm{--}0.7$ equal mass binary, with a semi-major axis of $sim 55$ au, and small/moderate orbital plane vs. circumbinary disc inclination $thetalesssim 30^circ$ provides a good match with observations. A dust mass of $sim 1.5times 10^{-4} {rm M_odot}$ best reproduces the flux in Band 7 continuum observations. Synthetic CO line emission maps qualitatively capture both the emission from the central region and the non-Keplerian nature of the gas motion in the binary proximity.
We report the discovery of CoRoT 102980178 (R.A.= 06:50:12.10, Dec.= -02:41:21.8, J2000) an Algol-type eclipsing binary system with a pulsating component (oEA). It was identified using a publicly available 55 day long monochromatic lightcurve from the CoRoT initial run dataset (exoplanet field). Eleven consecutive 1.26m deep total primary and the equal number of 0.25m deep secondary eclipses (at phase 0.50) were observed. The following light elements for the primary eclipse were derived: HJD_MinI= 2454139.0680 + 5.0548d x E. The lightcurve modeling leads to a semidetached configuration with the photometric mass ratio q=0.2 and orbital inclination i=85 deg. The out-of-eclipse lightcurve shows ellipsoidal variability and positive OConnell effect as well as clear 0.01m pulsations with the dominating frequency of 2.75 c/d. The pulsations disappear during the primary eclipses, which indicates the primary (more massive) component to be the pulsating star. Careful frequency analysis reveals the second independent pulsation frequency of 0.21 c/d and numerous combinations of these frequencies with the binary orbital frequency and its harmonics. On the basis of the CoRoT lightcurve and ground based multicolor photometry, we favor classification of the pulsating component as a gamma Doradus type variable, however, classification as an SPB star cannot be excluded.
Analyses of very accurate CoRoT space photometry, past Johnson V photoelectric photometry and high-resolution echelle spectra led to the determination of improved and consistent fundamental stellar properties of both components of AU Mon. We derived new, accurate ephemerides for both the orbital motion (with a period of 11.113d) and the long-term, overall brightness variation (with a period of 416.9d) of this strongly interacting Be + G semi-detached binary. It is shown that this long-term variation must be due to attenuation of the total light by some variable circumbinary material. We derived the binary mass ratio $M_{rm G}/M_{rm B}$ = 0.17p0.03 based on the assumption that the G-type secondary fills its Roche lobe and rotates synchronously. Using this value of the mass ratio as well as the radial velocities of the G-star, we obtained a consistent light curve model and improved estimates of the stellar masses, radii, luminosities and effective temperatures. We demonstrate that the observed lines of the B-type primary may not be of photospheric origin. We also discover rapid and periodic light changes visible in the high-quality residual CoRoT light curves. AU Mon is put into perspective by a comparison with known binaries exhibiting long-term cyclic light changes.
By using six new determined mid-eclipse times together with those collected from the literature, we found that the Observed-Calculated (O-C) curve of RR Cae shows a cyclic change with a period of 11.9 years and an amplitude of 14.3s, while it undergoes an upward parabolic variation (revealing a long-term period increase at a rate of dP/dt =+4.18(+-0.20)x10^(-12). The cyclic change was analyzed for the light-travel time effect that arises from the gravitational influence of a third companion. The mass of the third body was determined to be M_3*sin i = 4.2(+-0.4) M_{Jup} suggesting that it is a circumbinary giant planet when its orbital inclination is larger than 17.6 degree. The orbital separation of the circumbinary planet from the central eclipsing binary is about 5.3(+-0.6)AU. The period increase is opposite to the changes caused by angular momentum loss via magnetic braking or/and gravitational radiation, nor can it be explained by the mass transfer between both components because of its detached configuration. These indicate that the observed upward parabolic change is only a part of a long-period (longer than 26.3 years) cyclic variation, which may reveal the presence of another giant circumbinary planet in a wide orbit.