Contact binary systems: Why the secondary might be hotter.
Abstract
Some aspects of the contact binary problem are considered. The case of energy transfer occurring in the superadiabatic part of the convective envelope is considered and compared with the methods of Lucy and Moss and Whelan. New results for ZAMS non-rotating model contact systems, which illustrate the effects of changes in several parameters, are presented. The importance, for the construction of systems with unequal components, of the depth of the convective envelope at the pp-chain, CN-cycle switchover mass is demonstrated. The results show good, but not sufficient, agreement with observations for W UMa systems. The `superadiabatic' energy transfer mechanism naturally accounts for the secondary being the hotter component.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- 1972
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/156.1.115
- Bibcode:
- 1972MNRAS.156..115W