engleski

An indirect imaging of the accretion disk rim in W Crucis

The eclipsing binary W Crucis belongs to the rare group of strongly interacting binaries which are belived to be shortly after the first and rapid mass transfer between components, prior to Algol phase. New 7-color photometric measurements in the Geneva system are presented for this long period binary. Several consecutive cycles were covered which revealed rather complex light curves with pronounced bumps and asymmetries in the eclipse shoulders, as well in out-of-eclipse brightness. We modelled light curves with a variant of Rutten's 3D eclipse-mapping method, which makes it possible to indirectly image the accretion disk rim. A patchy structure has emerged, which explains the rather erratic and complex light curve and its cycle-to-cycle variations.

close binary stars; accretion disk; W Cr

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