Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,IV

The methods of analysis of the light changes of eclipsing variables in the frequency domain, developed in our previous papers (Kopal, 1975b, c) for total or annular eclipses of arbitrarily limbdarkened stars, have now been extended to the case of partial eclipses of occultation as well as transit type. In Section 2 which follows brief introductory remarks the even Fourier sine coefficients are formulated — in the guise of the momentsA _2m of the light curve — in terms of the elements of the eclipse; and their use for a solution for the elements is detailed in Section 3. A brief appendix containing certain auxiliary tables to facilitate this task concludes the paper. An extension of the same method to an analysis of the light changes exhibited by close eclipsing systems — in which the photometric proximity effects arising from mutual distortion can no longer be ignored — will be given in the subsequent paper of this series.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,II

The aim of the present paper will be to extend the Fourier methods of analysis of the light curves of eclipsing binaries, outlined in our previous communication (Kopal, 1975) in connection with systems whose components would appear as uniformly bright discs, to systems whose components exhibit discs characterized by an arbitrary radially-symmetrical distribution of brightness —i.e., an arbitrary law of darkening towards the limb — be it linear or nonlinear.In Section 2 which follows a few brief introductory remarks, fundamental equations will be set up which govern the light changes arising from the mutual eclipses of limb-darkened stars — be such eclipses total, partial or annular; and Section 3 will contain a closed algebraic solution for the elements of the occulation eclipses terminating in total phase. Such a solution proves to be no more complicated than it turned out to be for uniformly bright discs in our previous paper; and calls for no special functions for the purpose — as will be put in proper perspective in the concluding Section 4.The cases of transit eclipses terminating in an annular phase, of partial eclipses of occulation or transit type, will be similarly dealt with by Fourier methods in the next paper of the present series.     

Determination of the elements of eclipsing variables,RW Gem and AY Cam,by Fourier analysis of their light changes

The aim of the present paper has been to present an analysis of the light curve of two eclipsing systems RW Gem and AY Cam by Fourier analysis of the light changes in the frequency domain which was developed by Kopal (1975a, b, c, d, e; 1976).In Section 1, the subject is introduced in a general way, with the intention of laying the foundation of the light curve analysis. Section 2 contains the evaluation of the empirical values of the theoretical momentA _2m is demonstrated, with the equation of the condition given. Then the equations forA _2m in terms of the elements of the total and the annular eclipses, including partial and annular phase of transit eclipse, follow.The analysis of the light curves of the two eclipsing binaries (RW Gem and AY Cam), the results and the discussion of our solution, are outlined in Section 3.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,V

The methods of analysis of the light changes of eclipsing variables in the frequency-domain, developed in our previous papers (Kopal 1975a, b, c, d) for an interpretation of mutual eclipses in systems consisting of spherical stars, have now been extended to analyse the light variations — between minima as well as within eclipses — ofclose binaries whose components are distorted by axial rotation and mutual tidal action. Following a brief introduction (Section 1) in which the need of this new approach will be expounded, in Sections 2 and 3 we shall deduce the theoretical changes of close eclipsing systems between minima (Section 2) as well as within eclipses (Section 3), which in Sections 4 and 5 will be analysed in the frequency-domain; and explicit formulae obtained which should enable us to separate the photometric proximity and eclipse effects directly from the observed data as they stand-without the need of any preliminary ‘rectification’. Section 6 will contain the explicit forms of the expressions for photometric perturbations in the frequency-domain, due to rotational and tidal distortion of both stars; and the concluding Section 7 will then be concerned with practical aspects of the application of these new methods to an analysis of the observed light changes of close eclipsing systems — in which the proximity and eclipse effects cannot be distinguished from each other by mere inspection.     

Photometric perturbations of distorted eclipsing systems within minima

The aim of the first part (Sections 1 and 2) of this paper will be to extend an analysis of the light curves of totally-eclipsing binary systems to the case in which the distortion of the shadow-cone of the eclipsing component must be taken account of in an analysis of the system's light changes within minima. Like in the case of total eclipses of spherical stars, an extension of the analysis of their light changes in the frequency-domain can likewise be carried out in a closed form, without a need to resort to automatic computers which may not be at the disposal of every investigator. In the second part (Sections 3 and 4) of this paper, the same procedure will be extended (albeit to a lesser degree of precision) toany type of eclipses—be these total, annular or partial; while a proof of the underlying formulae the reader will find collected in the Appendix. Again, in this more general case, while an access to automatic computers may be of advantage to incorporate the photometric perturbation arising from the distortion of the components mutually eclipsing each other, their use represents a convenience rather than necessity for our work.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,I

The aim of the present paper will be to pioneer a new approach to the analysis of the light changes of eclipsing binary systems in the frequency domain, and to point out its merits in comparison with a conventional treatment of the same problem in the time-domain which has been developed so far. Following an introductory section in which the broad features of our problem will be set forth, Section 2 will contain an outline, and critique, of the time-domain approach. Section 3 will give an explicit treatment of the light changes arising from total and annular eclipses in the frequency domain — a problem which we succeeded in solving in close algebraic form. Section 4 will extend this treatment to the case of partial eclipses; and in the concluding Section 5 the relative merits of our new results will be discussed in broader perspective. Sections 3 and 4 contain explicit results pertaining to mutual eclipses of spherical stars exhibiting uniformly bright discs. An extension of these results to the case of arbitrary limb-darkening, and taking account of mutual distortion of both components, will be given in subsequent communications.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variable stars

The aim of the present paper is to establish the explicit forms of the photometric perturbations, in the frequency-domain, of close binaries, whose components are distorted by axial rotation and mutual tidal action.Following a brief introduction, Section 2 describes the light changes and the photometric perturbations within eclipses in the frequency-domain. In Section 3 the explicit forms of the perturbations for occultation eclipses terminating in totality are given; while in Section 4 analogous results are established for transit eclipses terminating in annular phases. In this latter case the results can be expressed in terms of the photometric perturbations for total eclipses and in terms of some series. To facilitate applications to actual stars these series have been computed and their results are represented in Table I and by the Graphs. Finally, Section 5 gives a discussion of the results.An extension of the photometric perturbations to the case of partial eclipses will be given in a subsequent communication.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing binaries in the case of transit eclipses,with application to the eclipsing system YZ Cassiopeiae

The aim of this paper is to extend the Fourier approach to the transit eclipses, terminating in annular phase, with an application to YZ Cassiopeiae. The results turn out to be more complicated than those obtained by Kopal for total eclipses. However, the solution can still be obtained by successive approximations without resorting to any tables of special functions.Section 1 contains an outline of the problem. In Section 2, the evaluation of the theoretical momentsA _2m for transit eclipses is given. An application of the Fourier method to the light curves of YZ Cas is presented in Section 3. Finally, in Section 4, a general discussion of the results is given.     

Computation of the elements of eclipsing binary systems in the frequency-domain

The aim of the present paper will be to translate the essential parts of the theory of Fourier analysis of the light changes of eclipsing variables into more practical terms; and describe procedures (illustrated by numerical examples) which should enable their users to obtain the desired results with maximum accuracy and minimum loss of information by processes which can be fully automated.In order to unfold in steps how this can be done, the scope of the present paper-the first of two-will be restricted to an exposition of the analysis of light changes caused by eclipses of spherical stars; while between minima due to this cause the light of the system should remain sensibly constant. An extension of our analysis to incorporate photometric effects arising from mutual distortion of the components of close eclipsing systems between minima as well as within eclipses is being postponed for the second communication.In developing this subject we shall single out for the user's attention only those parts of the whole theory which are of direct relevance to practical work. Their justification can be largely found in sources already published; and new developments essential for our work, not yet made public, will be relegated to several Appendices at the end of the text, in order not to render its text too discursive and deflect the reader's attention from the main theme of its narrative.After a brief outline of the subject given in Section 1, Section 2 will introduce the reader to practical aspects of the Fourier analysis of the light curves; and Section 3 will be devoted to its use to determine the numerical values of the momentsA _2m of the light curves which constitute the cornerstones for all subsequent work. Section 4 will describe an algebraization of the process of determination of the elements for the case of total (annular) eclipses; while Section 5 will do the same for partial eclipses. The concluding Section 6 will be devoted to an error analysis of our problem, and to an outline of the way by which the errors of the individual observations will compound to the uncertainty of the final results. Lastly, Appendices 1–5 concluding the paper will contain additional details of some aspects of our work, or proofs of new processes made use of to obtain our results, whose earlier inclusion would have made the main text too discursive.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,VIII

The main aim of this paper will be to develop explicit form of the moments of the light curvesA _2m(r ₁,r ₂,i) required for the solution for the geometrical elementsr _1,2 andi of eclipsing systems exhibiting annular eclipses (Sections 2 and 3), as well as partial eclipses (Section 4).In the concluding Section 5 we shall demonstrate that — regardless of the type of eclipse and distribution of brightness on the apparent disc of the eclipsed star, or indeed of the shape of the eclipsing as well as eclipsed components — the momentsA _2m satisfy certain simple functional equations — a fact which relates them to other classes of functions previously studied in applied mathematics.     

Observations and interpretation of the close binary system CG Cyg

Photometric observations of the short-period (RS CVn-type) eclipsing binary system CG Cyg have been presented. Two sets of results, obtained from an analysis of theB, V andR light curves, represent ‘occultation’ and ‘transit’ solutions. The occultation solution is preferred as it gives a better fit to the colour curve. This hypothesis may also offer a more promising explanation of the observed peculiarities such as period changes and the light variation outside eclipses.     

The eclipsing binary WX Eridani

The Algol type eclipsing binary WX Eridani was observed on 21 nights with the 48-inch telescope of the Japal-Rangapur Observatory during 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons in UBV colors. An improved period ofP=0^d.82327038 was obtained from the analysis of the times of five primary minima. Standstills between phase angles 50–80°, 100–130°, 230–260° and 280–310° were present in the light curves. The analysis of the light curves indicated the eclipses to be grazing with the primary a transit and the secondary an occultation. Elements derived from the solution of the light curve using Russell-Merrill method are given. From the comparison of the fractional radii with Roche lobes, it is concluded that none of the components has filled its respective Roche lobe. The spectral type of the primary component is estimated to be F3 and it is found to be a -scuti type variable pulsating with two periods equal to one-fifth and one-sixth of the orbital period.     

Computation of the elements of close eclipsing systems in the frequency-domain

The aim of the present paper will be to generalize the methods for computation of the elements of eclipsing binary systems in the frequency-domain, summarized in our recent Paper I (Kopal, 1981), to the case ofclose systems, in which photometric proximity effects become conspicuous and must be taken into account before the methods previously outlined in Paper I become directly applicable.Following a brief introduction to the subject given in Section 1, Section 2 summarizes (and comments upon) the difficulties previously encountered in separation of the photometric proximity and eclipse effects. In Section 3 we develop an alternative new approach to the problem by modulation of the light curves throughout the entire orbital cycle, intended to filter out proximity effects from the observed light changes and isolate those due to eclipses; while in Section 4 we shall present a numerical application of the new method to an analysis of the observed light changes of the eclipsing system W Ursae Maioris.In Section 5 we shall present a quantitative investigation of the photometric effects of distortion on the light changes of close eclipsing systems within eclipses-the most complicated part of the whole problem-with numerical application to the system of U Sagittae carried out in the concluding Section 6.Appendices 1–3 contain numerical data which should facilitate application of the methods developed and illustrated in Sections 3–4; while Appendix 4 will be reserved for a mathematical proof of certain expansions used in Section 5, which would have been too discursive for the main text.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,X

The aim of the present paper will be to develop methods for computation of the Fourier transforms of the light curves of eclipsing variables — due to any type of eclipses — as a function of a continuous frequency variablev. For light curves which are symmetrical with respect to the conjunctions (but only then) these transforms prove to be real functions ofv, and expressible as rapidly convergent expansions in terms of the momentsA _2m+1 of the light curves of odd orders. The transforms are found to be strongly peaked in the low-frequency domain (attaining a maximum forv=0), and become numerically insignificant forv>3. This is even more true of their power spectra.The odd momentsA _2m+1 — not encountered so far in our previous papers — are shown in Section 3 of the present communication to be expressible as infinite series in terms of the even momentsA _2m well known to us from Papers I–IV; and polynomial expressions are developed for approximating them to any desired degree of accuracy. The numerical efficiency of such expressions will be tested in Section 4, by application to a practical case, with satisfactory results.Lastly, in Section 5, an appeal to the Wiener-Khinchin theorem (relating the power spectra with autocorrelation function of the light curves) and Parseval's theorem on Fourier series will enable us to extend our previous methods for a specification of quadratic moments of the light curves in terms of the linear ones.     

A study of the eclipsing binary XX Cas

UBV photometry of the eclipsing binary system XX Cas has been presented. Primary eclipse appears to be a total occultation rather than a partial transit (Pierce, 1938). A slightly improved period of 3^d.0671708 has been obtained, and the colour of the system discussed.     

Light curve solutions of the eccentric Kepler binaries KIC 4281895 and KIC 5115178 with tidally-induced humps

The paper presents our light curve solutions of the Kepler data of two eccentric, eclipsing binaries: KIC 4281895 and KIC 5115178. The derived orbital and stellar parameters reveal that their components are of G spectral type and undergo partial eclipses. We found tidally-induced light humps around the periastron phases of the two targets which are appearances of the recently discovered “heartbeat” phenomenon.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,XVIII

The aim of the present paper has been to establish explicit expressions for the photometric perturbations in the light changes of close eclipsing systems, arising from the mutual distortion of the components, for any type of eclipses — be these occultations or transits; partial, total, or annular — and exhibiting arbitrary distribution of brightness (limb- or gravity-darkening) over the apparent disc of the eclipsed star.These perturbations have been expressed in terms of certain general types of series that can be easily programmed for automatic computation. They represent a generalization of results previously obtained by Kopal (1975) or Livaniou (1977, 1978) in so far as the expansions derived in this paper hold good for any real (not necessarily integral) value ofm>0. As such, they can be used to free from the photometric proximity effects within eclipses the empirical momentsA _2m of the light curves of non-integral orders, and the task performed within seconds of real time on high-speed automatic computers now available. Closed-form expressions for such perturbations, obtaining in the case of total eclipses, are given correctly to terms of first order in quantities which represent the distortion of each component.     

Fourier analysis of the light curves of eclipsing variables,XXII

The theoretical values of the momentsA _2m for any type of eclipses, expressed in terms of the elementsL ₁,a andc ₀, have been derived in the simple forms of rapidly convergent expansions to the series of Chebyshev polynomials, Jacobi polynomials and KopalJ-integrals (Kopal, 1977c) and hold good for any real (not necessarily integral) value ofm0.The aim of the present paper has been to establish explicit expressions for the Jacobian and its fast enough computation in the light changes of close eclipsing systems, arising from the partial derivative of different pairs ofg-functions (Kopal and Demircan, 1978, Paper XIV) with respect toa andc ₀ ² , for any type of eclipses (be these occultations or transit, partial, total or annular) and for any arbitrary degreel of the adopted law of limb-darkening. The functional behaviour of this Jacobian would determine the reasonable light curve in connection with geometrical determinacy of the parametersa andc ₀. In the expansion of Jacobian, the terms consist of two polynomials which satisfy certain three-term recursion relations having the eclipse parametersa andc ₀, as their arguments.Closed form expressions forf-functions, as well as of the Jacobian (e.g.,m=1, 2, 3), obtaining in the case of total eclipses, are given for a comparative discussion with the theoretical values of Jacobian derived from partial derivative of different pairs ofg-functions.The numerical magnitude of Jacobian would determine the best combination of the momentsA _2m in the different pairs ofg-functions and definite results would follow in the subsequent paper of this series (Edalati, 1978c, Paper XXIV).     

Theory of the light curves of eclipsing systems with oscillating components: I

The aim of the present investigation will be to develop a theory of the light changes of the eclipsing systems in which one (or both) components oscillate(s) freely-radially or non-radially-in period(s) which may (though need not) be synchronized with that of their orbit. The light curves exhibited by systems with oscillating components will, in general, beasymmetric; and these oscillations may, in fact, be the cause of asymmetries observed in many eclipsing systems with evolved components (for which such oscillations-far from being anomalous-should be the rule rather than exception). The present paper will be concerned with an investigation of photometric phenomena arising from oscillations of theeclipsing components of close binary systems-cutting off (partly or wholly) the star (spherical or distorted) which undergoes eclipse.In Section 2, which follows a brief introductory survey aiming to place the entire subject in its historical perspective, a theory will be given of the light curves of close binary systems, in the frequency-domain, which are affected byradial oscillations of the eclipsed or eclipsing star; while Sections 3 and 4 will be devoted to a similar treatment ofnon-radial oscillation of the secondary (eclipsing) component distorted by equilibrium tides, or axial rotation with constant angular velocity. As will be shown, a frequency-domain approach will enable us to describe all these phenomena in algebraic terms; with auxiliary results required to this end relegated to three Appendices to the main text (in order not to render the latter too discursive and impede the main line of the argument).A similar treatment of photometric phenomena which may arise in such systems from oscillations of their components which undergo eclipse is being postponed for a subsequent communication.     

Computation of the elements of eclipsing binaries from a part of their light curves

All methods existing today for computation of the elements of eclipsing binaries require photometric observations to cover the complete revolution of binaries, outside as well as within the eclipses. The maximum light and the depth of the eclipses are to be determined prior to any analysis, and the light curves are to be expressed in terms of the total light at quadratures. A method has been introduced in the present paper to enable us to obtain the elements of eclipsing binaries by an analysis of, not the whole, but a part of their eclipse light curves. In the new method no empirical knowledge of the maximum light or depth of eclipes is needed, and no normalization is necessary. The method can be used in any models (ellipsoidal, Roche, etc.). However, the larger the phase coverage of the light changes considered for the computation of the elements, the better the determinacy (or smaller the errors) is obtained.