Period investigation of two RS CVn-type binary stars: RU Cancri and AW Herculis

Orbital period variations of two RS CVn-type binaries, RU Cnc and AW Her, are presented based on the analysis of all available times of light minima. It is discovered that the orbital period of RU Cnc shows two possible period oscillations with periods of 13.38(±0.23) and 37.6(±3.4) years. The corresponding amplitudes of the oscillations are about 0.0098(±0.0023) and 0.0119(±0.0017) days. For AW Her, it is found that the period shows a cyclic variation with a period of 12.79(±0.34) years and an amplitude of about 0.0327(±0.0063) days. Since RU Cnc and AW Her are two RS CVn-type systems, the cyclic period oscillations are more likely to be caused by the magnetic activity cycles.