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Contact Binaries

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arxiv astro-ph/0304420 v1 pith:7QJAAUO7 submitted 2003-04-23 astro-ph

classification astro-ph
keywords binariescontactcomponentsequilibriumthermalbinarycommondevelop
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Despite being the most abundant (by space density) of interacting binary stars, W Ursae Majoris (W UMa) stars are not understood structurally. Their stellar components are in physical contact, and share a common convective envelope. Observations demand large-scale energy exchange between components, as do considerations of hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium. Yet solutions in complete equilibrium can account for only a few of the bluest W UMa binaries. Models which permit departures from thermal equilibrium can reproduce the observable properties of later-type W UMa binaries, but they develop relaxation oscillations, during a substantial portion of which the binary components break thermal contact and develop very different effective temperatures, contrary to observational statistics. Massive, early-type contact binaries are also known to exist, but the nature of energy and mass exchange in common radiative envelopes remains virtually unexplored.

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Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. OpenAlex reports about 6 citations worldwide. Full citation record

  1. The Close Binary V486 Carinae

    astro-ph.SR 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0 of 10

    V486 Car is a near-contact binary with component masses 2.1 and 0.4 solar masses, radii 3.2 and 1.48 solar radii, temperatures 10000 K and 6200 K, plus evidence for a ~0.3 solar mass companion at a few AU.

  2. Binary Analysis and Period Study of the Long-Period, High Mass Ratio Contact Binary KIC 7766185

    astro-ph.SR 2025-07 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    KIC 7766185 is an A-type W UMa contact binary with mass ratio 0.81, a very shallow contact (fillout 0.029), and one of the most massive secondaries known among well-studied W UMa stars.

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