W Corvi, A Contact Binary Star in Poor Thermal Contact?

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Session 85 -- Binaries
Display presentation, Wednesday, 11, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[85.08] W Corvi, A Contact Binary Star in Poor Thermal Contact?

A. P. Odell (No. Ariz. U.)

W Corvi is a short-period (0.388 days) eclipsing binary star which, due to differing eclipse depths, was cited early-on as a candidate for the 'broken-contact' phase of the Thermal Relaxation Oscillation (TRO) model. Early photometry was plagued by poor quality and starspots, so new measurements were undertaken, which fortuitously show only minor spot effects. The light variation can best be understood as a contact system with the secondary star temperature 930K less than the primary star, but with a hotspot on the cool star around the neck. An alternative model, still acceptably close to agreement with observation, has the two stars in semi-detached configuration, only a 300K temperature difference, and a small dark spot on the secondary at the anti-neck.

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