1,721,094 research outputs found

    Rapid time variability in the short-period RS CVn-type binary SV Camelopardalis

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    The eclipsing binary SV Cam shows photometric features that suggest its membership to the RS CVn group. The existing light curves (covering the period 1947 - 1986) have been analyzed in order to isolate the contribution of the wave-like distortion; all the observations support the presence of an activity cycle, with a duration of about 10 years

    Photometry of southern stars. II - Further evidence of spots in the eclipsing binary BH Virginis

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    UBVRI photometry of the eclipsing binary BH Virginis at ESO (La Silla, Chile) in April 1984, is presented. A new determination of the orbital period confirms its constancy since the discovery of the system. The light curve out of eclipse shows a moderate curvature, centered around phases 0.25 and 0.75, and an almost sinusoidal distortion at all five wavelengths. Comparison with existing observations indicates that this disturbance is variable in time and apparently migrates through the light curve. Assuming that the distortion is due to cool starspots, a temperature difference of about 1300-1400 K between the unperturbed photosphere and the spotted regions has been derived. However, this result is very uncertain, due to the small color changes and to the probable complexity of the spot distributions on both components. No conclusion about spot cycles and/or differential rotation can be obtained, since continuous monitoring of the binary does not exist; for this reason new light curves are needed in the coming years

    Differential rotation and activity cycles in RS CVn binaries. II - Model results for short and intermediate period members

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    Three active binaries of the RS CVn class with short period (SV Cam) and intermediate period (VV Mon and SS Boo) are studied by applying the statistical procedure of Busso and Scaltriti (1983) and the analytical method of Busso et al. (1984; Paper I) to a collection of photometric light curves extending for some years. The behaviour of the wave distortion for the studied systems can be reproduced fairly well by the model and allows to determine relevant parameters, such as the angular velocity at the equator, the rate of differential rotation, the rate of latitude shear of spots and the latitude of spots at formation. Though based on a small sample of objects, the results seem to indicate that short-period and intermediate-period binaries can behave quite similarly for what concerns spot cycles

    The RS CVn-type binary SV Camelopardalis - Evidence of dark spots from UBV observations and IR fluxes

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    New UBV light curves and some infrared JHK observations of the RS CVn-type binary SV Camelopardalis are presented. New determinations of primary minimum epochs confirm the presence of a light-time effect, with a period U = 74.7 yr. The overall shape of the light curve appears to vary in time by several hundredths of magnitude, due to a distortion wave whose fast migration causes an inversion in the levels of the maxima in a few months. IR excesses strongly suggest the presence of cool regions, in agreement with the common hypothesis that the light variations are due to starspots. By the method of Vogt (1981) spot temperatures turn out to be near 3800 K, about 1500 K cooler than the quiet photosphere. The spot hypothesis is also consistent with the changes in luminosity observed in the interval 1969-1984, which are shown to be tightly correlated with the cycles of stellar activity, as derived by the model of Busso et al. (1984)

    Differential rotation and activity cycles in RS CVn binaries. III - UV PISCIUM and UX ARIETIS

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    New photoelectric observations of the spotted binaries UX Arietis and UV Piscium are presented and studied on the basis of a previously established technique for analyzing unevenly sampled light curves. The new data, when combined with already published observations, allowed us to reconstruct the recent evolution of the spot activity in the systems studied by means of the method described in Busso et al. (1985). The results confirm the correlations between the differential rotation, the orbital period, and the duration of spot cycles tentatively established in that paper

    UBV photometry of FK Comae

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    UBV photometry of the peculiar star FK Comae, obtained during the period January-June 1983, is presented. The amplitude of the photometric variation has raised with respect to the previous observations performed in 1981 and 1982, attaining about 0.18 mag in the V filter. Color curves indicate that the star is redder at minimum light; this fact is consistent with both the models presented to explain the properties of FK Comae. A Fourier analysis of the light curves available in the literature has been performed; the phases of minimum and maximum light turn out to be noticeably stable in time. This fact is difficult to be reconciled with the hypothesis of dark spots that are observed to migrate in other active stars. Rather, it could be explained by the model of Walter and Basri (1982a, b), implying an extremely evolved Algol-type system accreting mass on its primary component

    Origin and evolution of the Vesta asteroid family

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    We model the formation and subsequent collisional evolution of the Vesta asteroid family. The outcomes of the cratering event(s) which generated the family are predicted from current cratering physics, whereas the subsequent erosion of the family members due to collisions with background asteroids is simulated according to the model of Marzari et al. (1995Icar..113..168M). Comparing the size and orbital distribution of the model Vesta families with the observed family, we estimate the number and size of the projectile(s) which have impacted Vesta. The observed morphology of the family suggests two possible scenarios: (1) The family is the outcome of a major cratering event, resulting from the impact of an asteroid =~40km in diameter on the surface of Vesta about 1Gyr ago, and followed by another more recent lower-energy impact (by a projectile =~20km in diameter), producing the family's subgrouping close to the 3:1 mean motion Jovian resonance. (2) A single impact occurred =~1 Gyr ago and formed the whole family at the same time. In this case we have to assume that the fragments were ejected isotropically over a hemispheric region of Vesta, instead of being concentrated near the surface of a 90deg aperture cone, as suggested by laboratory impact experiments with planar targets. This different ejection geometry yields a more scattered distribution of the orbital elements, resulting into a better agreement with the observed family. In both scenarios the cratering event(s) which formed the family is/are likely to have injected a significant number of km-sized and smaller fragments into the 3:1 resonance, thus generating V-type near-Earth asteroids and HED meteorites. However, it appears likely that the current influx of HED meteorites cannot be directly traced back to the family-forming event(s), but results from more recent, smaller impacts on Vesta (or other family members)
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