Absolute Magnitude Calibration for W UMa-Type Systems Based on Gaia Data

Abstract

Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) parallax data are used to determine absolute magnitudes $M_V$ for 318 W~UMa-type (EW) contact binary stars. A very steep (slope $\simeq -9$), single-parameter ($\log P$), linear calibration can be used to predict $M_V$ to about 0.1 -- 0.3 mag over the whole range of accessible orbital period, $0.22<P<0.88$ days. A similar calibration for the most common systems with $0.275<P<0.575$ days predicts $M_V$ values to about 0.06 -- 0.16 mag. For orbital period values both shorter and longer than the central range, the period dependence is respectively steeper and shallower, i.e.\ the binaries are fainter in $M_V$ than predicted by the whole-range, linear law. The steepness of the relation for short-period systems implies important consequences for the detectability of the faintest binaries defining the short-period cut-off of the period distribution. Although the scatter around the linear $\log P$-fit is fairly large (0.2 -- 0.4 mag), the current data do not support the inclusion of a $B-V$ color term in the calibration.

arXiv comment17 pages, 4 figures, accepted by AJ 2 Aug.2017

References in corpus (25)

• Maps of Dust IR Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and CMBR Foregrounds
• The Gaia mission
• Intrinsic Colors, Temperatures, and Bolometric Corrections of Pre-Main Sequence Stars
• Gaia Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties
• A Survey of Stellar Families: Multiplicity of Solar-Type Stars
• Reddening and Extinction Toward the Galactic Bulge from OGLE-III: The Inner Milky Way's Rv ~ 2.5 Extinction Curve
• Contact Binaries with Additional Components.I. The Extant Data
• Absolute Magnitude Calibration for the W UMa-type Systems Based on Hipparcos Data
• Contact Binaries with Additional Components. II. A Spectroscopic Search for Faint Tertiaries
• Contact binaries with additional components. III. The adaptive optics detections
• A Catalog of 1022 Bright Contact Binary Stars
• W UMa-type Binary Stars in Globular Clusters
• The short period end of the contact binary period distribution based on the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS)
• Short period eclipsing binary candidates identified using SuperWASP
• Period and period change measurements for 143 SuperWASP eclipsing binary candidates near the short-period limit and discovery of a doubly eclipsing quadruple system
• Luminosity function of contact binaries based on the ASAS survey
• The 7.5 Magnitude Limit Sample of Bright Short-Period Binary Stars. I. How Many Contact Binaries Are There?
• Large scale circulations and energy transport in contact binaries
• A BVRcIc Survey of W Ursae Majoris Binaries
• CCD Photometry of Variable Stars in the Field of the Globular Cluster NGC 6397
• Contact Binaries as Viable Distance Indicators: New, Competitive (V)JHKs Period-Luminosity Relations
• Spectroscopic metallicity determinations for W~UMa-type binary stars
• Time sequence spectroscopy of AW UMa. The 518 nm Mg I triplet region analyzed with Broadening Functions
• Period-Luminosity-Colour Relation for Early-Type Contact Binaries
• CCD Photometry of Faint Variable Stars in the Globular Cluster NGC 6752

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Statistics of 700 individually studied W UMa stars
• Gaia EDR3 Parallax Zero-point Offset based on W Ursae Majoris-type Eclipsing Binaries
• New low mass ratio contact binaries in the Catalina Sky Survey
• Optical-Mid-Infrared Period-Luminosity Relations for W UMa-type Contact Binaries Based on Gaia DR 1: 8% Distance Accuracy
• Case AD, AR, and AS binary evolution and their possible connections with W UMa binaries
• Search for Dormant Black Holes in Ellipsoidal Variables III. The OGLE BULGE Short-Period Sample
• Secular changes in the orbits of the quadruple system VW LMi
• Zwicky Transient Facility and Globular Clusters: the Period-Luminosity and Period-Luminosity-Color Relations for Late-Type Contact Binaries
• Eclipsing Binary Populations across the Northern Galactic Plane from the KISOGP survey
• The Deep and Low-Mass-Ratio Contact Binary CSS J022914.4+044340 with A Luminous Additional Companion