A Photometric Study of the Peculiar Binary Star V Sagittae

High-speed photometric UBV observations of the novalike variable V Sagittae conducted during 1994 and 1995 are reported. The data consist of a total of 152 hr of observations, covering the entire 12.3 hr orbital period. Analysis of the photometry using the new Wilson eclipsing-binary code suggests a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1997-12, Vol.109 (742), p.1351-1358
Main Authors: Mader, Jeff A., Shafter, Allen W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion disks
Binary stars
Eclipses
Ephemerides
Light curves
Mass ratio
Mathematical minima
Roche lobe
Stars
Stellar masses
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Summary:High-speed photometric UBV observations of the novalike variable V Sagittae conducted during 1994 and 1995 are reported. The data consist of a total of 152 hr of observations, covering the entire 12.3 hr orbital period. Analysis of the photometry using the new Wilson eclipsing-binary code suggests a model where mass is being transferred from a 0.86 M⊙, evolved, helium-burning star, which fills its Roche lobe, to a 3.48 M⊙ evolved companion. Thirteen new timings of primary eclipse in conjunction with published timings from 1946 to 1996 show that the orbital period is changing at a rate ṗ=—5.1(± 1.0)X10⁻¹⁰. We derive a lower limit to the mass-loss rate from the primary star of Ṁ₁ ~ –4.4(± 0.1)X10⁻⁷ M⊙ yr⁻¹. V Sge appears to be in a short-lived evolutionary state with a lifetime of ~ 2X10⁶ yr.
ISSN:0004-6280
1538-3873
DOI:10.1086/134015