The evolutionary status of β Per

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 1993-05, Vol.262 (2), p.534-542
• Main Author: SARNA, M. J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; binaries: eclipsing; Binary and multiple stars; Earth, ocean, space; Eclipsing binaries; Exact sciences and technology; Stars; stars: evolution; stars: individual: Algol; stars: mass-loss
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/262.2.534

Algol (βPer) is a very well-known eclipsing close binary system which has discovered by Goodricke in 1782. Algol has been an intensively studied object ever since, and it has been detected over a very broad range of wavelengths from radio to X-ray. From observations, orbital and physical parameters for Algol have been determined with moderately accurately. However, there does not exist an exact evolutionary model which, starting from some initial conditions(period, mass ratio, primary mass), reproduces the present parameters of the system. In this paper, we therefore examinethe evolutionary status of The present examination of the evolutionary status of β Per (Algol). We discuss the system from a non-conservative point of view, concerning mass transfer, and considers mass and angular momentum losses from the system via a stellar wind. We compare the C abundance determination from theoretical models with values known from observational analysis, and construct a theoretical model which agrees reasonably well with the observed one. The computed parameters lie well inside the observational error. During evolution, β Per loses about 15 percent of its initial total mass (∆M ~ 0.81 M⊙)and 30 percent of its initial total angular momentum.