A Photometric Study of Four Eclipsing Binaries

W. Lee Powell Jr. and Austin Ryan

University of Nebraska Kearney, Dept. of Physics, Bruner Hall of Science, 2401 11th Ave,
Kearney, NE
68849
Vayujeet Gokhale and Gage Hahs
Truman State University, Department of Physics, 100 E. Normal Ave, Kirksville, MO 63501
Abstract As part of a program to study eclipsing binary stars that exhibit the O'Connell Effect
(OCE) we are observing a selection of binary stars in a long term study. The OCE is a
difference in maximum light across the lightcurve, possibly caused by starspots. We observed
for seven nights at McDonald Observatory using the 30 telescope in July 2015, and used the
same telescope remotely for a total of 30 additional nights in August, October, December of
2015, as well as January, May, and June of 2016. We will present lightcurves for four stars
from this study, characterize the OCE for these stars, and present our model results for the
physical parameters of the star making up each of these systems.
1. Introduction
The some binary star systems, there exists a difference in brightness between the two maxima in
their light curve. This was named the OConnell effect (OCE) (Milone 1968) 5. This effect is not
yet fully understood, although models that attempt to explain why this phenomenon exist. A
current theoretical model that agrees with observation suggest that late type and/or short period
binaries can easily produce the OCE and that the OCE has no relation with the type of binary (Liu
and Yang 2015) 6. The preliminary results in this paper will be used in our long-term study of the
OConnell effect in order to determine the origin of this effect in binary star systems.
The four eclipsing binary stars focused on in this project are V2477 Cyg, NSVS00470320,
NSVS12657149, and V0372 Dra. V2477 Cyg is an EW type variable with a period of 0.311250
days and a range of magnitudes in the Johnson V band between 9.86 and 10.65 (Otero 2005).
NSVS00470320 magnitude ranges from ~11.55 to ~12.15 mag in the Johnson V band with a period
of 0.5079511 days, and has a strong and visible OCE (Shaw and Hou 2006) 4. NSVS12657149 is
another NSVS star that also shows an obvious existence of the OCE in its lightcurve, with a period
of 0.8259000 days and magnitudes in the Johnson V band ranging from ~12.6 to ~13.25 (Shaw
and Hou 2006) 4. V0372 Dra is an EB type variable with a period of 0.533529 days with a range
of magnitudes in the Johnson V band between 10.39 and 11.09 (Otero 2004)7. By observing these
stars and their light curves, we have made preliminary findings in both the nature of their current
OCE and their physical parameters. The overall goal will be continue to monitor these objects and
discover how each stars OCE changes over time in order to pinpoint the origin of the OCE itself.
2. Observations and Calibration
2.1 General Observation Information

All photometry observations were taken using the 30 telescope at the McDonald Observatory in
Fort Davis, Texas using its prime focus camera (PFC). The PFC uses a Loral-Fairchild nitrogen
cooled 2048x2048 pixel chip. The Johnson B and V filters were used. The readout time for this
chip is quite long and the field of view is larger than needed so only the central portion of the chip
was used. Using a 750x750 pixel region resulted in a field of view of around 15 arcminutes and a
readout time of just over 70 seconds. This allowed us to achieve a faster cadence and more
complete lightcurves. Dark current is negligible for this LN2 cooled instrument. Dome flat field
frames and bias frames were taken frequently for all observing runs.
2.2 Observing Runs and Targets
The SDSS ID, coordinates, dates, and observers are listed in Table 1. The photometry taken for
V2477 cyg was taken on site from July 24th 29th, 2015 with exposure times of 15 sec in the
Johnson B filter and 10 sec in the Johnson V filter. Both NSVS stars were observed using the same
telescope but remotely at Bruner Hall of Science at UNK. These observations were taken from
December 18th 21st, 2015 and from January 4th 7th, 2016. For NSVS00470320 and
NSVS12657149, the respective exposure times were 30 and 50 sec in the Johnson B filter and 20
and 35 sec in the Johnson V filter. V0372 Dra was observed from June 14th. 2016 through June
19th, 2016 with exposure times of 10 sec in the Johnson V filter and 15 in Johnson B filter. These
fairly short exposure times, along a CCD readout time of 70 seconds, allowed us to take 150-200
exposures per night if the same field was observed the entire night with permitting weather.
Star

RA (2000)

Dec

Dates

V2477 Cyg

304.7456

56.6054

July 24th 29th, 2015.

NSVS00470320

45.2484

78.5801

NSVS12657149

106.7541

6.5832

V0372 Dra

261.4201

59.2587

December 18th 21st, 2015

and January 4th 7th, 2016.
December 18th 21st, 2015
and January 4th 7th, 2016.
June 14th 21st, 2016

Observers
W. L. Powell Jr., Austin Ryan, Gabe
Wieczorek, Evan Folk
W. L. Powell Jr., Austin Ryan
W. L. Powell Jr., Austin Ryan
W. L. Powell Jr., Austin Ryan

Table 1: Details of the four observed stars.

2.3 Data Processing
Using IRAF (Image Reduction and Analysis Facility) the science frames were bias corrected,
trimmed, and the flat fields were combined. The program Mira Pro Unlimited Edition was then
used to divide each of the images by the combined flat field in order to correct the images for nonuniform response in the CCD. Stars in each frame were then chosen in each frame to align the
images. Standard stars within the field of our variable were found using the APASS photometry
catalog (AAVSO). These standards, discussed further in the next section, were used to determine
the magnitude of the variable star in each image using aperture photometry in Mira Pro.
2.4 Comparison Stars and Photometry Measurements
2.4.1 Comparison Stars

All comparison stars used for these three eclipsing binaries were found using the AAVSO
Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS). These comparisons were chosen based on their similarity
in color and magnitude to the literature values discussed in the introduction section. As shown
Powell et al (2015), using the full all-sky absolute photometry calculations, the color differences
could introduce error if we used comparison stars that were not similar in color to the certain
variable we are studying.
V2477 Cyg
Comparison

RA (2000)

Dec (2000)

Number of
Observations

V error

B error

B-V

C1

304.81463

56.587832

12.514

0.182

13.095

0.032

0.581

C2

304.681054

56.66133

12.376

0.036

12.971

0.023

0.595

C3

304.700175

56.505403

12.254

0.164

12.931

0.022

0.677

C4

304.909054

56.544552

11.678

0.195

12.322

0.029

0.644

NSVS00470320
Comparison

RA (2000)

Dec (2000)

Number of
Observations

V error

B error

B-V

C1

45.356305

78.538379

10.756

0.05

11.448

0.089

0.692

C2

45.628474

78.664855

10.822

0.05

11.27

0.09

0.448

NSVS12657149
Comparison

RA (2000)

Dec (2000)

Number of
Observations

V error

B error

B-V

C1

106.762449

6.641248

13.097

0.023

13.729

0.033

0.632

C2

106.858359

6.643391

13.403

0.03

13.987

0.036

0.584

C3

106.863728

6.567215

13.086

0.069

13.608

0.058

0.522

V0372 Dra
Comparison

RA (2000)

Dec (2000)

Number of
Observations

V error

B error

B-V

C1

261.509134

59.178551

11.905

0.037

12.345

0.044

0.44

C2

261.546953

59.250980

11.200

0.030

12.000

0.043

0.80

C3

261.232001

59.298351

11.719

0.064

12.294

0.010

0.575

C4

261.439401

59.313655

12.043

0.043

12.867

0.045

0.824

C5

261.565946

59.310287

13.578

0.042

14.302

0.032

0.724

Tables 2, 3, and 4: APASS comparison stars for each binary observed. The data listed are drawn
from the APASS catalog.

2.4.2 Photometry Results

MIRA Pro Ultimate Edition was used to make differential photometry measurements using a
tool built into the software. The standards are identified in the image and the standard magnitude
is entered for each. The software uses the standard stars to compute a plate solution for each
image which is then used to measure the magnitude of the variable star. Again, care was taken to
match the color of the comparison stars to that of the variable. The magnitude of each star in the
frame is then color independent, as well as time and location independent since the magnitudes
were obtained for stars in the same image that are therefore at the same time and from the same
location in the sky. This results in accurate magnitudes at least for the case of standards chosen
to match the color of the variable.
3. Analysis and Results
3.1 Light Curve
Using the magnitudes and the time of observation expressed as the Modified Julian Date (MJD),
we calculated the phase and normalized magnitude for each observation. This was done using
(1)
and
(2)
Where the epoch and period are determined from the AAVSO VSX database. The minimum
magnitude is found as the brightest point in our LCs. After these equations are applied, we have
data points for each LC. These data points were used to determine the asymmetry in the LC which
is a measure of the OCE and were used to measure the parameters of each binary system using
Binary Maker 3.
3.2 The OConnell Effect
A sufficient amount of data was collected for three of the four systems in order to analyze their OCE using
the following two parameters

(3)
and
(4)
The OER Is the OConnell Effect Ratio and the LCA is the Light Curve Asymmetry1. The OER is the ratio
of the area under the curves for the first and second LC. The LCA measures how the two halves of the LC
depart from symmetry. The LCA will grow as the LCs become more asymmetric. One of these could imply
no OCE while the other suggests an OCE (for example, a tall narrow maximum and a wide short maximum

with equal areas underneath the curve (OER = 1) but this would show an LCA not equal to zero 2. The
presence of the OCE would imply some factor that causes the maximum in the LC to change, most likely
due to star spots.

Fig 1. Fourier fits to the objects analyzed for their OCE. The lightcurves are phased in such a way
that the OCE is more visible. Their OER and LCA are also displayed.
3.3 Parameters and 3D Models
Using the software package Binary Maker 3 (BM3) (Bradstreet 2005), an iterative approach was
used on the parameters (such as temperature and mass ratio) to match the LC of each star. BM3
also creates a 3D plot of the star from the inputted mass ratio, fillout factors, inclination, and
starspots. Figure 2 displays each 3D model with their respective fitted LC. Parameter values for
each star can be found in Table 5.
NSVS00470320

NSVS12657149

V2477 Cyg

V0372 Dra

Figure 2: 3D Models of each system and their spot, along with their measured light curve (red
points) and fitted light curve from Binary Maker 3 (blue points).
NSVS0047320

NSVS12657149

V2477 Cyg

V0372 Dra

Mass Ratio

2.17

1.65

Fillout Factor

-0.002

0.225

0.67

Temp 1

5800K

7900K

6459K

6000K

Temp 2

8200K

5250K

6000K

7900K

Inclination

65.2

78.7

86

76.5

Spot Coalitude

50

70

80

90

Spot Longitude

140

320

110

260

Spot Radius

15

4.8

15

19

Spot Temp. Factor

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Table 5: Physical parameters used to fit each LC in BM3. One spot was used for each system.

4. Conclusions
We have shown our results on this photometric study of three eclipsing binary stars. Both the BM3 and
OCE analysis suggest that NSVS00470320 and V0372 Dra are Beta Lyrae type variables, and that V2477
Cyg appears to be transitioning from a Beta Lyrae to a W Uma type. Although we were not able to analyze
the OCE for NSVS12657149, BM3 results suggest that this is a near-contact or contact variable - although
due to the lack of data at its maxima, we cannot come to the conclusion that this is the case. When fitting
the lightcurves using BM3 as shown in Fig 2., a spot was needed for each star in order to account for their
OCE, the strongest of which is V0372 Dra. It is easy to see that a large spot was needed in order to account
for the large difference in brightness between its two maximas. Similar solutions, such as one with two
smaller spots in order to account for the OCE instead of one large one, seemed to have work as well when
using BM3. These preliminary results will be crucial in understanding how the OCE effects change over
time, which will give us an understanding of the origin of the OCE.

5. Future and On-Going Work

These stars will be observed again over the next few years to determine whether the OCE
strengthens or weakens over time. This would help us determine how the spots might be changing.
Spectroscopy could be obtained for these systems using the 2.1m at the McDonald Observatory in
order to obtain their radial velocity curves to further pinpoint the accuracy of their parameters in
Binary Maker 3. A long-term study of these stars light curve over time will determine how the
OCE is changing over time, giving us another clue to what is actually causing the OConnell Effect
to occur.
6. Acknowledgements
- This research has made use of the International Variable Star Index (VSX) database, operated at
AAVSO, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
- We also would like to acknowledge the use of the internet list of Near Contact Binaries of the Northern
Sky Variability Survey maintained at the University of Georgia by J.S. Shaw and David Hou.
- This paper includes data taken at The McDonald Observatory of The University of Texas at Austin.
- We would like to recognize the support of the UNK Research Service Council for support of our travel
to the observatory, and the UNK Undergraduate Research Fellow program for additional support.
- "IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which are operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the
National Science Foundation."

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Gardner et al. 2015 JAAVSO Vol 43.

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Powell et al (2015)
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Milone E. F., 1968
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Liu and Yang, Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys. Vol. 3 (2003), No. 2, 142-150.
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S.A.Otero, P.Wils, P.A.Dubovsky, IBVS N5570, 2004.
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