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Register a new userReview of candidates of binary systems with an RR Lyrae component
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We present an overview and current status of research on RR Lyrae stars in binary systems. In present days the number of binary candidates has steeply increased and suggested that multiple stellar systems with an RR Lyrae component is much higher than previously thought. We discuss the probability of their detection using various observing methods, compare recent results regarding selection effects, period distribution, proposed orbital parameters and the Blazhko effect.
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In this contribution, we summarize the progress made in the investigation of binary candidates with an RR Lyrae component in 2016. We also discuss the actual status of the RRLyrBinCan database.
Despite their importance, very few RR Lyrae (RRL) stars have been known to reside in binary systems. We report on a search for binary RRL in the OGLE-III Galactic bulge data. Our approach consists in the search for evidence of the light-travel time effect in so-called observed minus calculated ($O-C$) diagrams. Analysis of 1952 well-observed fundamental-mode RRL in the OGLE-III data revealed an initial sample of 29 candidates. We used the recently released OGLE-IV data to extend the baselines up to 17 years, leading to a final sample of 12 firm binary candidates. We provide $O-C$ diagrams and binary parameters for this final sample, and also discuss the properties of 8 additional candidate binaries whose parameters cannot be firmly determined at present. We also estimate that $gtrsim 4$ per cent of the RRL reside in binary systems.
Although roughly half of all stars are considered to be part of binary or multiple systems, there are only two confirmed cases of RR Lyrae pulsators with companions. One of them is TU Uma (Wade et al 1999) - a classical RR Lyrae star in a very eccentric orbit - and the other is OGLE-BLG-RRLYR-02792 (Pietrzynski et al 2012). Considering the wealth of well-studied RR Lyrae stars, this number is astoundingly low. Having more RR Lyrae stars in binary systems at hand would be extremely valuable to get independent measurements of the masses. The data from the Kepler mission with their unprecedented precision and the long time span of about four years offer a unique possibility to systematically search for the signatures of binarity in RR Lyrae stars. Using the pulsation as a clock, we studied the variations in the timing of maximum light to hunt for possible binary systems in the sample.
Among the tens of thousands of known RR Lyrae stars there are only a handful that show indications of possible binarity. The question why this is the case is still unsolved, and has recently sparked several studies dedicated to the search for additional RR Lyraes in binary systems. Such systems are particularly valuable because they might allow to constrain the stellar mass. Most of the recent studies, however, are based on photometry by finding a light time effect in the timings of maximum light. This approach is a very promising and successful one, but it has a major drawback: by itself, it cannot serve as a definite proof of binarity, because other phenomena such as the Blazhko effect or intrinsic period changes could lead to similar results. Spectroscopic radial velocity measurements, on the other hand, can serve as definite proof of binarity. We have therefore started a project to study spectroscopically RR Lyrae stars that are suspected to be binaries. We have obtained radial velocity (RV) curves with the 2.1m telescope at McDonald observatory. From these we derive systemic RVs which we will compare to previous measurements in order to find changes induced by orbital motions. We also construct templates of the RV curves that can facilitate future studies. We also observed the most promising RR Lyrae binary candidate, TU UMa, as no recent spectroscopic measurements were available. We present a densely covered pulsational RV curve, which will be used to test the predictions of the orbit models that are based on the O-C variations.
The spectacular data delivered by NASAs {it Kepler} mission have not only boosted the discovery of planets orbiting other stars, but they have opened a window on the inner workings of the stars themselves. For the study of the RR Lyrae stars, Kepler has led to a breakthrough. To date, over 50 RR Lyrae stars are known in the Kepler field. They are studied within the RR Lyrae/Cepheid working group of the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium (KASC). This paper highlights some of the most interesting results on RR Lyrae stars obtained through Kepler so far.
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