Four newest CCD eclipse timings of the white dwarf for polar UZ Fornacis and Six updated CCD mid-eclipse times for SW Sex type nova-like V348 Puppis are obtained. The detailed O-C analyses for both CVs inside period gap are made. Orbital period incre
ases at a rate of $2.63(pm0.58)times10^{-11} s;s^{-1}$ for UZ Fornacis and of $5.8(pm1.9)times10^{-12} s;s^{-1}$ for V348 Puppis, respectively, are discovered in their new O-C diagrams. However, the conservative mass transfer from the secondary to the massive white dwarf cannot explain the observed orbital period increases for both CVs, which are regarded as part of modulations at longer periods. Moreover, the O-C diagram of UZ Fornacis shows a possible cyclical change with a period of $sim23.4(pm5.1)yr$. For explaining the observed cyclical period changes in UZ Fornacis, both mechanisms of magnetic activity cycles in the late-type secondary and the light travel-time effect are regarded as two probable causes. Not only does the modulation period 23.4yr obey the empirical correlation derived by cite{lan99}, but also the estimated fractional period change $Delta P/Psim7.3times10^{-7}$ displays a behavior similar to that of the CVs below the period gap. On the other hand, a calculation for the light travel-time effect implies that the tertiary component in UZ Fornacis may be a brown dwarf with a high confidence level, when the orbital inclination of the third body is larger than $16^{circ}$.
The periodic events occurring in Eta Carinae have been widely monitored during the last three 5.5-year cycles. The last one recently occurred in January 2009 and more exhaustive observations have been made at different wavelength ranges. If these eve
nts are produced when the binary components approach periastron, the timing and sampling of the photometric features can provide more information about the geometry and physics of the system. Thus, we continued with our ground-based optical photometric campaign started in 2003 to record the behaviour of the 2009.0 event in detail. This time the observation program included a new telescope to obtain information from other photometric bands. The daily monitoring consists of the acquisition of CCD images through standard UBVRI filters and a narrow Halpha passband. The subsequent differential photometry includes the central region of the object and the whole Homunculus nebula. The results of our relative UBVRIHalpha photometry, performed from November 2008 up to the end of March 2009, are presented in this work, which comprises the totality of the event. The initial rising branch, the maximum, the dip to the minimum and the recovering rising phase strongly resemble a kind of eclipse. All these features happened on time - according to that predicted - although there are some photometric differences in comparison with the previous event. We made a new determination of 2022.8 days for the period value using the present and previous eclipse-like event data. These results strongly support the binarity hypothesis for Eta Car. In this paper, the complete dataset with the photometry of the 2009.0 event is provided to make it readily available for further analysis.
The periodicity of 5.5 years for some observational events occurring in Eta Carinae manifests itself across a large wavelength range and has been associated with its binary nature. These events are supposed to occur when the binary components are clo
se to periastron. To detect the previous periastron passage of Eta Car in 2003, we started an intensive, ground-based, optical, photometric observing campaign. We continued observing the object to monitor its photometric behavior and variability across the entire orbital cycle. Our observation program consisted of daily differential photometry from CCD images, which were acquired using a 0.8 m telescope and a standard BVRI filter set at La Plata Observatory. The photometry includes the central object and the surrounding Homunculus nebula. We present up-to-date results of our observing program, including homogeneous photometric data collected between 2003 and 2008. Our observations demonstrated that Eta Car has continued increasing in brightness at a constant rate since 1998. In 2006, it reached its brightest magnitude (V ~ 4.7) since about 1860s. The object then suddenly reverted its brightening trend, fading to V = 5.0 at the beginning of 2007, and has maintained a quite steady state since then. We continue the photometric monitoring of Eta Car in anticipation of the next periastron passage, predicted to occur at the beginning of 2009.
Up to now, most stellar-mass black holes were discovered in X-ray emitting binaries, in which the black holes are formed through a common-envelope evolu tion. Here we give evidence for the presence of a massive black hole candidate as a tertiary comp
anion in the massive eclipsing binary V Puppis. We found that the orbital period of this short-period binary (P=1.45 days) shows a periodic variation while it undergoes a long-term increase. The cyclic period oscillation can be interpreted by the light-travel time effect via the presence of a third body with a mass no less than 10.4 solar mass. However, no spectral lines of the third body were discovered indicating that it is a massive black hole candidate. The black hole candidate may correspond to the weak X-ray source close to V Puppis discovered by Uhuru, Copernicus, and ROSAT satellites produced by accreting materials from the massive binary via stellar wind. The circumstellar matter with many heavy elements around this binary may be formed by the supernova explosion of the progenitor of the massive black hole. All of the observations suggest that a massive black hole is orbiting the massive close binary V Puppis with a period of 5.47 years. Meanwhile, we found the central close binary is undergoing slow mass transfer from the secondary to the primary star on a nuclear time scale of the secondary component, revealing that the system has passed through a rapid mass-transfer stage.
