The structure equations of contact binaries and the light curve paradox

Details The structure equations of contact binaries and the light curve paradox The structure equations of contact binaries and the light curve paradox

Jan 1989

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1989a%26a...209...67k&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 209, no. 1-2, Jan. 1989, p. 67-84.

Statistics

Computation

23

Binary Stars, Light Curve, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Models, Stellar Structure, Color-Color Diagram, Computational Astrophysics, Convection Currents, Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

Scientific paper

The basic assumptions in contact binary theory are critically reviewed. It is shown that the mechanical equilibrium conditions are much more stringent than supposed so far, except for the Lucy models. They enforce a close agreement between the surface brightnesses of the components and thus good light curves. The structure equations for systems in hydrostatic equilibrium are derived and discussed. If the usual local treatment of internal mass motions is adopted, the departures from the Lucy model are small. Hydrodynamic arguments show, however, that a global treatment is necessary and that turbulence plays a central role. Accordingly, a common turbulent region is proposed which comprises also convectively stable layers. The turbulence is driven by large-scale circulation currents and (if present) by convective instability. The energy transfer in this region is discussed, and it is shown that the fractional extent of the turbulent envelope is larger in the primary. The result is a unified treatment of late-type and early-type contact binaries. It involves three free parameters, including a generalized mixing-length.

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