No Arabic abstract
Photometric instabilities of $beta$ Lyr were observed in 2016 by two red-filter BRITE satellites over more than 10 revolutions of the binary, with $sim$100-minute sampling. Analysis of the time series shows that flares or fading events take place typically 3 to 5 times per binary orbit. The amplitudes of the disturbances (relative to the mean light curve, in units of the maximum out-of-eclipse light-flux, f.u.) are characterized by a Gaussian distribution with $sigma=0.0130pm0.0004$ f.u. Most of the disturbances appear to be random, with a tendency to remain for one or a few orbital revolutions, sometimes changing from brightening to fading or the reverse. Phases just preceding the center of the deeper eclipse showed the most scatter while phases around secondary eclipse were the quietest. This implies that the invisible companion is the most likely source of the instabilities. Wavelet transform analysis showed domination of the variability scales at phase intervals $0.05-0.3$ (0.65--4 d), with the shorter (longer) scales dominating in numbers (variability power) in this range. The series can be well described as a stochastic Gaussian process with the signal at short timescales showing a slightly stronger correlation than red noise. The signal de-correlation timescale $tau=(0.068pm0.018)$ in phase or $(0.88pm0.23)$~d appears to follow the same dependence on the accretor mass as that observed for AGN and QSO masses 5--9 orders of magnitude larger than the $beta$~Lyr torus-hidden component.
Observations of Beta Lyr in four months of 2018 by three BRITE Constellation satellites (the red-filter BTr and BHr, and the blue-filter BLb) permitted a first, limited look into the light-curve variability in two spectral bands. The variations were found to be well correlated outside the innermost primary minima with the blue variations appearing to have smaller amplitudes than the red; this reduction may reflect their presumed origin in the cooler, outer parts of the accretion disk. This result must be confirmed with more extensive material as the current conclusions are based on observations spanning slightly less than three orbital cycles of the binary. The assumption of an instrumental problem and the applied corrections made to explain the unexpectedly large amplitude of the red-filter light-curve observed with the BTr satellite in 2016 are fully confirmed by the 2018 results.
The BTr and UBr satellites observed $beta$ Lyrae from May to October 2016 to continuously monitor light-curve instabilities with the time resolution of about 100 mins. An instrumental problem affecting localized patches on the BTr CCD detector has been discovered by comparison with partly simultaneous UBr observations; the origin of the problem is being investigated. A zero-point offset permits utilization of the BTr data for a time-series characterization of deviations from the mean light curve defined to $simeq 0.0025$ mag.
This paper aims to precisely determine the masses and detect pulsation modes in the two massive components of Beta Cen with BRITE-Constellation photometry. In addition, seismic models for the components are considered and the effects of fast rotation are discussed. This is done to test the limitations of seismic modeling for this very difficult case. A simultaneous fit of visual and spectroscopic orbits is used to self-consistently derive the orbital parameters, and subsequently the masses, of the components. The derived masses are equal to 12.02 +/- 0.13 and 10.58 +/- 0.18 M_Sun. The parameters of the wider, A - B system, presently approaching periastron passage, are constrained. Analysis of the combined blue- and red-filter BRITE-Constellation photometric data of the system revealed the presence of 19 periodic terms, of which eight are likely g modes, nine are p modes, and the remaining two are combination terms. It cannot be excluded that one or two low-frequency terms are rotational frequencies. It is possible that both components of Beta Cen are Beta Cep/SPB hybrids. An attempt to use the apparent changes of frequency to distinguish which modes originate in which component did not succeed, but there is potential for using this method when more BRITE data become available. Agena seems to be one of very few rapidly rotating massive objects with rich p- and g-mode spectra, and precisely known masses. It can therefore be used to gain a better understanding of the excitation of pulsations in relatively rapidly rotating stars and their seismic modeling. Finally, this case illustrates the potential of BRITE-Constellation data for the detection of rich-frequency spectra of small-amplitude modes in massive pulsating stars.
We present time dependent modeling based on the accretion disk limit cycle model for a 270 d light curve of the short period SU UMa-type dwarf nova V344 Lyr taken by Kepler. The unprecedented precision and cadence (1 minute) far surpass that generally available for long term light curves. The data encompass two superoutbursts and 17 normal (i.e., short) outbursts. The main decay of the superoutbursts is nearly perfectly exponential, decaying at a rate ~12 d/mag, while the much more rapid decays of the normal outbursts exhibit a faster-than-exponential shape. Our modeling using the basic accretion disk limit cycle can produce the main features of the V344 Lyr light curve, including the peak outburst brightness. Nevertheless there are obvious deficiencies in our model light curves: (1) The rise times we calculate, both for the normal and superoutbursts, are too fast. (2) The superoutbursts are too short. (3) The shoulders on the rise to superoutburst have more structure than the shoulder in the observed superoutburst and are too slow, comprising about a third to half of the total viscous plateau, rather than the ~10% observed. However, one of the alpha_{cold} -> alpha_{hot} interpolation schemes we investigate (one that is physically motivated) does yield longer superoutbursts with suitably short, less structured shoulders.
We present a detailed light curve analysis of RR Lyrae variables at multiple wavelengths using Fourier decomposition method. The time-series data for RR Lyrae variables in the Galactic bulge and the Magellanic Clouds are taken from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment survey while the infrared light curves are compiled from the literature. We also analyse the multiband theoretical light curves that are generated from the stellar pulsation models of RR Lyrae stars for a wide range of metal-abundances. We find that the theoretical light curve parameters with different metal abundances are consistent with observed parameters in most period bins at both optical and infrared wavelengths. The theoretical and observed Fourier amplitude parameters decrease with increase in wavelength while the Fourier phase parameters increase with wavelength at a given period. We use absolute magnitudes for a subset of theoretical models that fit the observed optical RR Lyrae light curves in the Large Magellanic Cloud to estimate a distance modulus, $mu_textrm{LMC}=18.51pm0.07$, independent of the metallicity. We also use Fourier analysis to study the period-color and amplitude-color relations for RR Lyrae stars in the Magellanic Clouds using optical data and find that the slope of period-color relation at minimum light is very shallow or flat and becomes increasingly significant at the maximum light for RRab stars. We also find that the metallicity dependence of the period-color relations increases as we go from minimum to maximum light, suggesting that the mean light results are indeed an average of the various pulsational phases. We summarize that the average variation in these relations is consistent between theory and observations and supports the theory of the interaction of the stellar photosphere and the hydrogen ionization front.