Solar-Type Cycles in Close Binary Systems
Abstract
Solar-type cycles in late-type secondary components of cataclysmic variables can produce cyclical variations of the quiescent luminosity, the time intervals between consecutive outbursts of dwarf-nova systems, and the orbital period. Analysis of the long-term light curves of several types of close binary systems suggests cyclical variations of the mass-transfer rate which can be ascribed to fractional changes of the radii of the late-type secondaries by Delta R/R in the range 0.00006-0.0003, as expected for a typical solar cycle. The probability density function of the periods of the cycles discovered in both CVs and single main-sequence stars are peaked around 6 yr. The periods of the cycles do not seem to be affected by the rotation regime of the star. A possible correlation between these cycles and the recurrence times of recurrent novae is suggested.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 1990
- DOI:
- 10.1086/115476
- Bibcode:
- 1990AJ.....99.1941B
- Keywords:
-
- Cataclysmic Variables;
- Solar Cycles;
- Astronomical Photometry;
- Light Curve;
- Main Sequence Stars;
- Novae;
- Probability Density Functions;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- X Ray Binaries;
- Astrophysics;
- STARS: DWARF NOVAE